


Sensei Exchange

by KibaSin



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Mild Language, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-07 16:46:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 43,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibaSin/pseuds/KibaSin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their senseis' have gone nuts, deciding that they were going to be taught for two weeks by a group of shinobi from Sunagakure. Crazy thing, these shinobi are barely older than themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Their Decision

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any material belonging to the creators of _Inuyasha_ or _Naruto._

* * *

 

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, blinking as they waited at the gates. "Kakashi-sensei!" he whined when he got no answer.

"Be quiet, Naruto," Sakura hissed, shaking her head. After doing so she turned her eyes back toward the direction the group was facing. She was also wondering what was happening, since Kurenai's, Asuma's, Gai's, and their own team had joined together for something. It had to be something important, since they were told to dress nicely and act decent when something happened. They hadn't been told what, but just when it happened they'd know.

Kurenai glanced back and shook her head. "It's alright that he asks," she said.

They perked up; all twelve of them turning their attention toward her, though some weren't as noticeable.

"We're waiting for the Sunagakure shinobi who're meant to arrive any minute now," she continued.

Naruto jumped up, smiling. "Is Gaara going to be with them?" he asked. It'd been a while since he'd seen his friend, at least seven months or so. He hoped he was fairing well.

"I don't know," Kurenai replied. "I just know that there will be four or more of them."

"There they are!" Gai shouted. Turning toward his rival, he mocked, "I saw them first, Kakashi. That makes it one hundred and eight to eighty-three!"

Kakashi rolled his eye and shook his head lightly, flipping the page in his book. Sighing, he decided to humor the other jounin, saying, "There are seven of them."

Gai blinked and squinted his eyes, before nodding. "It seems there are! Very good, Kakashi! Maybe someday you'll be as good as I, your rival!"

"Seven!" Naruto shouted. "Who are they? Who are they?"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke muttered. "They're too far away to tell who they are, especially with the fog that's settled around the village."

Naruto growled, glaring at the other boy. "Sasuke-teme," he said darkly.

"Idiot," Sasuke replied.

Sakura sighed, "Please don't fight."

Naruto instantly brightened, "Anything for you, Sakura-chan!"

"Tch," Sasuke snorted, turning his attention toward the people marching toward them. Or they seemed to be, until one of them screamed 'hentai' very loudly and slammed a huge weapon against the head of another, who was instantly picked up by one of them muttering to themselves. The other was shaking their head and walking behind the figure that he supposed was Gaara from the fact that he didn't seem to care about what was happening behind him. However, as they came closer, Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the appearance of the ones following behind Gaara and his siblings. It made him wonder why they were waiting for shinobi who were obviously less then fifteen years old.

It wasn't long before they were standing before them, their senseis' greeting them friendly and welcoming them to Konohagakure. Sasuke, however, blinked at the sight of the one standing so closely to Gaara, while the demon vessel didn't even seem to care. It wasn't that that really drew his attention, but the fact that she stood with such confidence, her chakra signaling that she held a large amount of power, yet she smiled happily, like there was nothing bad in the world. Not to mention she had to be interesting if Gaara allowed her so close.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves?" Kakashi said. "And state your ages."

They nodded, before one of them stepped forward. He had white hair, which was falling halfway down his back, and cold golden eyes, which he used to glare at them with. His lips were forming a scowl, while he crossed his arms over his chest. His brown clothing was nothing special, but he did carry a sword on his side, and a holster on his thigh. His Sunagakure headband was wrapped around his arm. "Feh, I'm Inuyasha, age fourteen," he said.

The girl beside Gaara shook her head, and also stepped forward. Her hair was black, and also loose down her back, her Sunagakure headband holding her long bangs out of her face. Her eyes were a misty blue-gray, and there was a bright smile on her face that could have warmed the heart of anyone. Her clothing was black and silver, and there was a symbol of two white wings crossed over each other, each outlined with red, on the front. Her weapons weren't anywhere to be seen, which lead them to believe she may have them hidden. "Hello," she smiled. "I'm Higurashi Kagome, age thirteen."

The other girl stepped forward, her face slightly harder than the female before her, but her eyes friendly. Her hair was cut up to her shoulders, black in color, and her headband was wrapped around her neck. Her brown eyes matched her brown clothing perfectly, but it was the large boomerang-like weapon she carried on her back that caught the most attention. "I am Sango, age fourteen," she said.

The final boy, who'd been revived recently, was finally standing to his full height. His black hair was pulled into a small ponytail, while his headband was covering his forehead. He had warm brown eyes, and a lecherous smile, while he scanned their large group silently. He wore red and brown clothing, and carried a staff in his hand. "And I am Miroku, age fourteen," he said, eyeing the girls. "I would love to get to know everyone of you girls!"

"Shut up, lecher!" Sango hissed, pulling on the strap of her large weapon.

Miroku laughed nervously, waving his hands in the air. "Sango, I meant no offence to you darling!"

"Stop calling me that," Sango growled.

"U-um, excuse me," came a small voice.

Kagome smiled, stepping forward more, until she was standing in front of the dark haired girl with white eyes. "Yes?" she asked.

"I-I'm Hyuuga H-Hinata and I was just wonder w-why you're the o-only one with a s-surname," she stuttered, a light blush coming onto her cheeks.

"I am the only one willing to share it," Kagome smiled brighter. "I'm sure in time they'll tell you theirs, but right now we're here simply because—"

"We're here," Inuyasha butted in rudely, "because we're supposed to whip you idiots into shape."

Kagome scowled, turning to glare at the white haired boy, who suddenly stiffened. "We're here because Gaara-sama wishes it," she muttered. "He could have picked any shinobi for this task, Inuyasha, you're lucky he chose you. Idiot."

"Don't you fucking call me an idiot, you fucking wench!" he snarled.

She pulled out a kunai from her waist, twirling it on her fingers. Her eyes turned hard, and her smile completely vanished. "You want to settle this right here, right now, asshole?" she asked, her voice hard.

Hinata took a few steps back, waving her hands in the air as she tried to stop them. She squeaked when she bumped into someone and turned to find the girl named Sango standing there. Blushing a bit more, she apologized, before asking, "W-was it something I said?"

"No," Sango shook her head. "Kagome's clan and Inuyasha's clan have always been at odds. They've been at each other's throats since we became genin at the age of seven, Kagome the age of six, and were put onto the same team with Miroku. They're taught from birth to hate each other, so this comes naturally to them."

"T-this is n-normal?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," Sango nodded. "They've always been like this and always will be. Don't worry about it so much."

Inuyasha pulled his sword from its sheath, and pointed it at her. "Why not, you fucking whore!" he roared.

She smirked evilly, "Wow, that was intelligent, considering the fact that it came from your mouth, dobe. However, I do believe you have us mixed up, considering the fact that you're the one who's always trying to get into Kikyo's clothing. Though, I have to admit, you did come rather strongly onto her once she was kicked out of the Higurashi Clan. Would you suddenly like me if I didn't hold my surname?"

"Bitch," he roared, rushing at her. However, a wall of sand suddenly appeared before him, and he slammed against it. Crying out, he backed off, knowing from experience not to go against the word of the new Kazekage. Hell, he'd always been frightened of that brat, knowing what he could do.

She jumped to the top of the sand mound, and stared down at the boy. "We will continue this at a later time, Taisho. And when we do, I will run circles around you," she smirked.

Inuyasha growled, before sheathing his sword. "I'd take you on right now if you weren't protected by the Kazekage, whore. You and your fucking clan."

"It is not my fault your clan opposed Gaara-sama's reign, while mine accepted it," Kagome shrugged. "Besides, my clan is loyal to Sunagakure, thus I shall never turn my back on my people. Gaara-sama, no matter what he is considered to be, is apart of Sunagakure, and that makes him like family. Only you and your stupid clan are the ones that we cannot stand." She jumped down from the sand wall and moved to stand beside Sango, listening to the sound of Inuyasha's grumbling, a smile turning up on her lips once more. "But don't worry, dobe, when I kill you, your death will be quick, though I can't promise it will be painless."

She turned to the others completely, not listening as Inuyasha went into a rant about her and her clan. "Why don't we get started?" she asked, smiling brightly.

Sango shook her head; "You really shouldn't get him riled up like that, Kagome."

"It's the idiot's fault, not mine. It's not my fault he was born with a mental disorder," Kagome mocked. "Besides, the dobe can do what he wishes, I have no time for him right now. My mission is to protect Kazekage-sama, but since I have been ordered by him to teach these Konohagakure shinobi, I shall."

Sango sighed, "Kagome-chan…"

Miroku, having inched away from the chaos of the two rivals, stepped next to the girl he'd set his eye on. She had hair like he'd never seen, and it was exotic to his male eye. Seeing her give him a wary look, he smiled reassuringly, and then took her hand. "My, what a beautiful young lady you are," he said. "May I ask for your name?"

She blinked, "Ah… Haruno Sakura." She blushed looking into his eyes, and wished that Sasuke would look at her like that.

"What a beautiful name," Miroku smiled. "Tell me, Sakura, would you mind bearing my children?"

Sakura turned several shades of red. "W-WHAT!?"

"Oh god, he's at it again," Sango hissed. "Pervert."

"It's a simple yes or no answer, Sakura," Miroku pressed.

Naruto's mouth had fallen open, and he suddenly pointed his finger at the Sunagakure shinobi. "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING ASKING SAKURA-CHAN A QUESTION LIKE THAT?" He turned to Sasuke to find that the other boy had simply shaken his head and turned his eyes toward the two new females. Eyes wide, he grabbed Sasuke by the arm, "AREN'T YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING, SASUKE-TEME?"

Sasuke pulled away from him. "Stop touching me, dobe," he growled.

Sakura tried to pull her hands away, but found that his grip was strong and sure. She gasped, and then finally pulled hard enough to free one of her hands. "I'm waiting for Sasuke-kun, you pervert," she shouted, slapping him across the face. Feeling his head snap back, she pulled completely away from him, and then turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun!"

"Stop whining," Sasuke muttered.

"She hit him, I'm impressed," Sango said.

Kagome pouted, "I hit him, Sango-chan! You were never impressed with me!"

"You're apart of Sunagakure," Sango explained. "I'm impressed because a kunoichi from another village actually had the idea to hit him. I'm amazed she hit him so hard, too. Though, yours was much harder."

Kagome brought her arm up and placed her hand onto the muscles. "I train like a fighting machine, Sango-chan!"

Sango rolled her eyes, "Yeah, about that phrase…"

" _As_  interesting as this all is," Kakashi said, catching the attention of the ones involved and watching the chaos, "I believe we should get down to business."

"Yes, yes," Gai nodded. "Quite right, we should be getting you all onto the path that will lead you to the ultimate achievement of youth!"

"Really, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted.

"That's right, Lee!" Gai shouted back.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Neji and TenTen twitched slightly, while the others simply stared at the now hugging pair. However, Neji, determined to show indifference toward them, spoke up. "What exactly is this business you speak of, Hatake-san?"

Kakashi gave a small smile, allowing the book in his hands to tilt forward slightly. "I'm glad someone asked," he nodded. "For the next two weeks you will be the students of these Sunagakure shinobi!"

The twelve members of the four squads froze, and stared at the four shinobi from Suna. They then glanced toward the young Kazekage, and watched as he gave a single nod, before his eyes settled onto Kagome. It seemed that the Kazekage had a new interest, but they each doubted he'd go for it.

Naruto's lip quivered, and he rushed toward Gaara. Standing in front of him, he said, "Please tell me it's not true, Gaara."

"I would be lying," the Kazekage replied.

"NO!" Naruto shouted. "I already have to put up with Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sannin, and you brought… that… that pervert who hit on Sakura-chan! How could you, Gaara?"

"It was not that hard," Gaara said, shifting his eyes to the vessel of Kyuubi. "He is a strong jounin."

"Jounin!" they shouted.

Kagome smiled, nodding. "I thought that would have been obvious. We're all jounin, have been for three years now. Of course, I've always wanted to work close to the Kazekage, but I never thought I'd be training genin and chuunin. But if my Kazekage wishes it, then it shall be done."

Gaara gave a single nod.

Naruto blinked, and turned to her. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"What?" she asked, blinking in surprise, but her smile still remaining.

"You keep saying you'll do anything for Gaara, why?" Naruto asked. He didn't really understand the look in Gaara's eyes when he'd once again turned toward the girl again, but he hoped it was something good. And he hoped that whatever it was, she returned it, since Gaara needed something in his life to keep him from falling back into the dark place he'd been at.

"My loyalty lies first with my Kazekage, Gaara-sama, second with my clan, and finally with my village," Kagome stated, standing very straight. "I will protect Kazekage-sama with my life, for it is my duty to my village to keep him safe. Besides, if I held no loyalties to Gaara-sama, then I would not make a good personal guard."

"Personal guard?" Naruto blinked.

"Yeah, she's his fucking lap dog, kid," Inuyasha grinned. "Follows him around everywhere, no matter where it is." He flinched when the Kazekage's eyes settled onto him, the glare clear as day. Bowing slightly, he said, "I meant no offence, Kazekage-sama."

"That's not true, dobe," she snapped. "I am to watch his back, not whatever you're thinking of. I protect Kazekage-sama from those who are not worthy of his skill or his time." She paused, and then grinned, "People like  _you_."

Inuyasha stiffened, then growled. "Fuck this, we settled this NOW!" he shouted, watching as they stiffened. Grabbing his sword, he watched as her eyes narrowed, and she settled into a stance he'd seen many times. "Kekkei Genkai already, bitch? Fine," he said. Allowing his bloodline trait to flow through his veins, he felt his appearance changing, and grinned at her. "I'll show you just how unworthy I am."

Her eyes swirled until they were completely silver, with three dark blue ovals forming around where the pupil should have been. The ovals began to spin, creating what looked like a large blue circle surrounding her nonexistent pupil inside the piercing silver. "You seem to forget something, though, dobe. My Kekkei Genkai allows me to counterattack every attack you make. I will see through everything, and I will have a defense for it. Then, when you're weak, I shall bring upon my Kekkei Genkai's Genjutsu, and it will be then you'll experience more pain then you can imagine." She swung her hand, and suddenly they gave off a white looking chakra visible to the eye, and it seemed to leak from her very skin after she stopped the movement.

He raised his sword, his voice darker than it had been. "Wind Style: Wind Scar Jutsu!"

She dropped lower, her hands coming together even before he'd spoke, knowing he'd been making the seals before he'd shouted. Watching the white streaks as they soared toward her, she noted that Gaara was close by. Gritting her teeth together, knowing that he could be injured, she made the final seal. "Wind Style: Dance of the Dragon Technique!" She instantly went into a spin, moving faster with each turn, until a large twister formed around her. The effect was enough, for the attack Inuyasha had unleashed was swept away, completely disappearing from view.

Inuyasha growled, moving forward, his sword held tightly in his hand. The winds did not die, but she stepped away from the swirling vortex, chakra keeping her to the ground as her hair was lifted with the winds. He brought up his new claws, and was preparing to slice her to pieces, when she went into another series of hand seals, this time spinning the opposite direction once she had completed them.

"Wind Style: Multiple Dragon Dance!" she shouted, forming another large twister, which clashed with the first twister, while the others tried to keep themselves attached to the ground. Once it was completed, she flipped out and instantly went into another one, forming the third and final one. Once it was completed, she made sure to exit differently, knowing that Inuyasha was waiting for her on the outside. His Kekkei Genkai allowed him demon strength and speed, which meant she needed to use her head.

"Bitch!" Inuyasha shouted when she allowed herself to be sucked up into the vortex. He glanced upward, wondering when she'd come out, and watched as she suddenly zipped into the air from the top of the smallest twister. Knowing that any weapon or jutsu he threw at her would be sucked inside of the three growing twisters, he moved away, watching her with his keen eye.

She pulled out two scrolls, allowing them to fly in the opposite directions until they were completely unraveled. She twisted herself, the winds keeping her upright, and pumped her chakra into the scrolls. "Fire Style: Black Flame Dragon!" she hissed, feeling the scrolls suddenly burst into flames. She twisted again, allowing the shape to take form, her chakra continuing to flood into the mix, and watched as the flames turned completely black while surrounding her. Hearing what sounded like a roar, she knew the dragon was complete, and turned her eyes to Inuyasha, her body moving the dragon easily.

The dragon moved, swooping down on Inuyasha as he jumped out of the way. The flames licked the ground, the flames instantly igniting along the path the dragon took, chasing after Inuyasha. However, just as it was about to shallow him whole, Gaara's hand shot out, and a wall of sand formed between the two fighting jounin. The dragon swooped upward, circling into the sky, and then burst apart, the girl inside beginning to fall toward the ground. The girl instantly went into another set of hand seals, and fell softly to the ground, the wind whipping violently around them, before she waved her hand.

"If you wish it, Kazekage-sama," she whispered. "I apologize for not obeying your orders." She moved to stand in front of him, and knelt there. "I shall take whatever punishment you would settle upon my shoulders."

Inuyasha panted, his Kekkei Genkai fading as he stood off to the side. He glared at the Higurashi, his distaste for her still strong, even as she instantly turned into the obedient bitch he knew she was. That was why he liked Kikyo; because she didn't follow the rules and that was the reason she'd been kicked out of the Higurashi Clan.

Gaara did nothing.

Feeling the sand caress her face, Kagome stood, bowing her head deeper. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama." She lifted her head, and smiled.

The Konohagakure shinobi stared in silence—with the exception of one.

"THAT WAS NUTS!"

* * *

_**Dictionary** _

_Chakra –_  life energy

 _Chuunin –_  middle ninja; journeyman ninja

 _Dobe_ – dead last

 _Ero-Sannin_ – perverted sannin

 _Genin_  – low ninja; junior ninja

 _Genjutsu –_  illusion technique

 _Jounin –_  high ninja; elite ninja

 _Jutsu_ – technique

 _Kazekage_  – wind shadow

 _Kekkei genkai –_  bloodline limit

 _Konohagakure (no Sato) –_ Village Hidden Among Leaves

 _-sama_  – suffix used in very high respect

 _-san_  – a polite and formal suffix meaning "Mr." "Mrs." "Ms." or "Miss"

 _Shinobi –_  ninja

 _Sunagakure (no Sato)_ – Village Hidden Among Sand

 _-teme –_  bastard (used in suffix form)

* * *

 


	2. New Squads

Some of them turned their heads as Naruto rushed forward, smiling brighter than normal, as he stood in front of the girl who stood in front of the Kazekage. "That dragon was awesome!" Naruto almost shouted, "How did you do that?!"

Kagome blinked, turning her head toward him. However, she suddenly smiled, almost as if she hadn't just gotten into a serious battle with the male that had once been on her three-man squad. "I did the hand seals while inside the third twister, and then I used the scrolls I unraveled in order to create the shape of the dragon, as well as turning it black. It's not hard once you do it correctly the first time," she replied, tilting her head to one side.

"Could you teach me that?" Naruto asked; feeling more excited by the moment. "And—and what was that thing that happened to your eyes? Is that a really hard jutsu? Can you teach me that, too?"

Kagome giggled, "I guess you weren't paying that much attention, were you?" Seeing him give her a dumbfounded look, she choked down her laughter, but continued to smile. "If you had been paying attention you would have heard the idiot over there," she motioned toward Inuyasha, "say Kekkei Genkai; the change my eyes went through was the doujutsu of my clan. We call it the ketatamashiigan; the piercing eye. It allows me to… see things before they happen, in a sense, and it also allows me to see through most Genjutsu that are used upon me. There are a few secrets behind it, as well; things that have been kept hidden, but I do not know them. Unfortunately I can't teach it to you."

Many of them turned to Sasuke, who looked quite stunned as she explained what her doujutsu did. They all knew the sharingan quite well, knew that it could see through Genjutsu and, in a sense, see things before they happened—the only thing her ketatamashiigan didn't do was copy other jutsu. Even then, though, she'd said that there were things about it that she did not know of; that had been kept secret—perhaps her doujutsu was a different form of the almost nonexistent sharingan? It almost seemed like it, though her eyes had seemed more half-sharingan and half-byakugan from the coloration and markings.

"But," Naruto pouted, "you can teach me that cool dragon jutsu, right?"

"If you're on my squad," Kagome stated with as much authority in her voice as she could muster. For some reason she didn't want to disappoint him, he seemed so much like her younger brother, always bright and wanting to learn. It was hard to tell him 'no'.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto whined. "Please, please, please— _pleeeaassseeee_! I'll learn quickly because I'm the best shinobi in Konohagakure! Believe it!" He stopped when a hand was laid on his head, and turned to see that Kakashi-sensei was staring down at him. Then, turning back to the girl in front of him, he noticed that she seemed to be quite overwhelmed, almost like she hadn't expected someone to be so eager to learn from her. However, he continued to smile, wondering for a moment if he used his sexy jutsu if Kakashi-sensei would agree to put him on her squad so he could learn the dragon technique.

"Naruto, the squads have already been decided," Kakashi said. "You're going to have to be happy with what you get."

"But, but, I want to be on her squad, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whined. Then, hearing a sound behind him, he turned to glare at Sasuke. "And I don't want to have Sasuke-teme on my squad anymore! He'll steal all my training time!" He squinted at his sensei, and nearly whispered, "Especially with such a pretty girl."

Though the others didn't hear what he said, they saw Kagome turn bright red. She laughed nervously, and brought her hand up, waving it around in embarrassment. "That's really very kind of you, but I-I'm nothing special. J-just you're average, ordinary girl!" She continued to laugh nervously, turning her eyes so that she wasn't looking at anyone as she scurried over to Sango.

Sango smiled kindly at her friend, "One of these days you're going to have to come to realize just how much of a piece of eye candy you are to guys, Kagome-chan."

Kagome turned a deeper shade of red and crossed her arms over her chest, not realizing that it brought most of the attention to her, though not all of it was noticeable. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sango-chan!" she cried out, wishing that there were a nice, large hole that she could go and hide in. "I don't have anything more than any other girl!"

"Feh, stupid wench," Inuyasha hissed lowly. His face turned a light shade of red, his eyes lightly tracing over the curve of Kagome's waist, before resting on the arms that she'd crossed over her nice set of breasts. His eye twitched slightly, and he told himself to think of Kikyo, but Sango had a point. The black and silver outfit that the Higurashi wore showed her figure more than she realized, along with the feminine parts of her body that she seemed to believe were simply average.

"You're so in denial," Sango sighed. She glared at the hormonal boys, noticing that they were either turning light,  _very_  light shades of pink, bright red, or drooling openly at her friend. The pink haired and blonde haired girls were glaring at her at first for some reason, while Hinata turned a soft shade of red, and the brown haired girl blinked rapidly.

Kagome gave a small cry and raced back to the three silent siblings. She hid behind Temari, but when she felt the slightly chuckles that the Kazekage's elder sister was allowing to escape quietly, she almost went to hide behind Kankurou, until she noticed how he was staring openly at her chest. Her next cry was a little louder, and she quickly crouched down behind the Kazekage as closely as she could, crossed her arms over her chest, and buried her head into her knees. She began to mutter to herself, though the others only caught slightly things like 'idiots' and 'stupid hormones'.

"Whoa," Kiba whistled. Akamaru gave a small bark of agreement from on top of his head, and he quickly closed his mouth when he realized he might start drooling at any moment. If he hadn't already, that was.

Hinata turned a little redder, turning to her teammate. "K-Kiba-kun, you shouldn't b-be staring at her like that!"

Kiba turned his eyes rather quickly, his face turning a bit red. "You're right, Hinata-chan," he quickly agreed, trying to calm himself down. He doubted he would have even noticed with the dark clothing that she wore if she hadn't pointed it out so dramatically. Then again, he might have after some time if he got put on the same squad as her; in fact, he kind of hoped he would be.

Shino also quickly turned his head when he realized that his sensei was staring deeply into his sunglasses. He was glad for the high collar of his jacket, when he realized that his cheeks were turning a soft shade of red.

Sakura twitched, looking down at her own chest, feeling embarrassed that she was comparing them. However, when she looked at Sasuke, now having turned his head just a bit to the side, she thought that he was looking at the crouched girl behind the Kazekage. Almost instantly rage bubbled up inside of her when she thought she saw a bit of pink powdering his cheeks, but beat it down, telling herself that it was probably just the cool air of the morning.

Sasuke grunted, telling himself that he shouldn't be looking at any girl that way—not until his brother was dead. He hated himself for a moment, since he'd never noticed any of the fan girls that followed him endlessly, yet he'd noticed a girl from Suna that had only been there for about an hour, maybe longer. Maybe it was her mood swings, or her skill, or her enormous amount of chakra, or maybe her  _brea_ —either way, he needed to find the reason and get over it, he didn't need this type of distraction. However, the pink tint to his cheeks darkened just a tiny bit when he noticed the way she was shaking her head back and forth, showing off her slender, pale, neck at random moments.

Ino bristled, glaring at her teammates. Chouji had stopped chewing midway to stare openly at the girl, while Shikamaru made it seem like he didn't care—she could tell otherwise from the way his ears, cheeks, and some of his neck darkened in color, though. She wasn't that angry with the new girl, it wasn't her fault that she had a generous amount of flesh, but her teammates shouldn't be staring at her that way because she did. Especially, she stiffened, and turned to look toward her Sasuke, wondering if he was staring at the whimpering girl, too. However, she was pleased when she noticed that his face was turned to the side.

Lee blinked, stars forming in his eyes. "So youthful!" he yelled.

TenTen was slightly glad that her bushy-browed teammate was slightly naïve. However, she turned her eyes to her other teammate and sighed. She wondered how he made it look like he wasn't interested when he was clearly staring intently at the girl, his eyes hooded just a bit as if it were natural. She shook her head, knowing that drawing attention to the pink shade of his cheeks would get her nowhere, since he would merely tell her that he did not stoop to such things as staring at women he did not know. Then he would go back to staring at her as if he didn't care, thus making her comment pointless in the first place.

Kakashi coughed, telling himself he should not be staring at her the way he was, turning his attention back to his student. "Naruto," he continued, "you won't have to worry about Sasuke for the next two weeks."

Naruto blinked, the slight trail of drool on his chin going unnoticed as he turned his now starry eyes to his sensei. "Really, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, a smile twitching at the side of his lips.

"Yup," Kakashi smiled back. "We randomly chose which three students—still two boys and one girl—would be with which Sunagakure jounin. We made sure that everyone was with someone new; both of your new teammates will be with someone you've never trained with before as a team."

"Really?" Naruto yelled. "Who am I with, Kakashi-sensei? Who?" However, his eyes quickly narrowed as he thought about something, and he asked, "Wait. Kakashi-sensei, how exactly did you decide who would be with who?"

The jounin sweat dropped, remembering the two hats, one with the girls names, one with the boys names, and placing names back into hats as they tried to  _randomly_  place each person with two other people who had not been on their team before. However, Kakashi squinted his eye, patted Naruto on the head, and said, "That's not important right now. What's important is getting you all set up to begin your training."

"Kagome-chan."

"Ah," Kagome turned her head to Temari. "Yes, Temari?"

"You look pathetic," Temari muttered.

Kankurou snorted, continuing to stare at her chest, "Shows what you know, Temari."

"Shut up, Kankurou," Temari snapped.

Kagome laughed again, finally standing and brushing herself off a few times, making sure to pull lightly at her top in order to loosen it more. However, she stepped around the Kazekage and finally began to walk back to Sango. Halfway there, though, she was intercepted and narrowed her eyes at the shinobi who stood before her. Being on his team had made her cautious of him being too close to her, even on missions. "Miroku," she muttered.

Miroku stepped closer to her, the move causing the other shinobi to turn toward them. "Ah, Kagome-sama," he began, "you shouldn't be so embarrassed about your stunning beauty. I, having survived cold winter nights, harsh summer days, hauntingly disgusting sights, and many, many missions by your side, am quite glad that I had such a beautiful teammate standing beside me. Why," his hand twitched as he stepped a little closer, "I wouldn't have wished for any other female, expect perhaps my darling Sango, to be on my genin squad, even if we were so young then."

"Miroku," Kagome stiffened, "remove the  _hand_."

"It was your beauty, Kagome-sama, that made such horrific sights at the age of ten and higher much, much more appealing," Miroku continued.

Kagome growled, and glared, murder in her eyes, at him, her Kekkei Genkai beginning to show. Finally, unable to take it anymore, she snapped, "Miroku, you  _PERVERT_!" Her hand reared back and though he took a stumbling step away from her, the back of her hand connected nicely with his right cheek. A loud crack was heard, and he was lifted off his feet, beginning to turn in the air as he sailed away from her. Angry, she stomped over to Sango, not paying attention to Miroku even as he roughly hit the ground, sliding into the grass.

The males cringed at the kunoichi's strength, while the girls blinked in wonder, hoping they could learn to be that strong someday. And, they shifted their eyes to the other female standing next to her, still wearing that large boomerang like it weighed nothing, and wondered how strong she was in comparison.

Miroku, after a few moments, stood, lifted his hand into the air, and said, "I'm okay." A goofy grin was on his face before he stumbled back toward them, his hand twitching all the way. When he neared them the girls all took several back, and he grinned a little more.

Inuyasha shook his head, "When are you gonna learn, Miroku?"

"It was worth it," Miroku chuckled. Then, without a word, he fell forward into the dirt. His hand continued to twitch, and even as he groaned, no one came to help him.

"Stupid pervert," Kagome muttered. "Why did I ever get stuck on his team?"

Sango patted Kagome's shoulder, "I feel for you, Kagome-chan. Nice hit, by the way."

Kagome smiled brightly, "Thank you, Sango-chan." However, an evil glint formed in her eyes and she said, "He's lucky he's not Inuyasha, though, otherwise I'd kick him while he's down."

Inuyasha growled in response.

Kakashi coughed, while the other jounin shook their heads, beginning to wonder if this was the best idea. These Sunagakure jounin were violent, and the Higurashi seemed to have constant mood swings. But they guessed if the newly appointed Kazekage chose them that they had to be some of the best—at least in strength and jutsu. However, Kakashi paid the other jounin no mind, and asked, "Would it be too much trouble if we moved on?"

Kagome smiled again, "Not at all, Hatake-san. You may proceed as you wish."

Kakashi blinked, but nodded. "Very well," he said, "Kurenai?"

"Right," the female jounin stepped forward, holding a scroll in her hand. She unraveled it, and began, "For the next two weeks the four squads will be as followed: Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and TenTen will be squad one."

Inuyasha grunted, "That means you're with Miroku." He lightly kicked his fellow jounin in the side, wondering how he ever got stuck on the pervert's squad so long ago. The Higurashi he could understand, she was all right when it came to fighting, but the stupid pervert couldn't keep his mind out of the gutter no matter how hard he tried. If it wasn't for them knocking him unconscious fifty percent of the time Kagome would have probably screamed and one of their missions' would have ended in failure, each of them dying painful deaths. Then again, he was pretty good once he got serious.

Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head, "WHAT!?" He began to panic, his mouth dropping in horror. He suddenly latched himself onto Kakashi-sensei, nearly screaming, "No! No! Kakashi-sensei, tell me it's not true! I can't be stuck with that pervert! I already have to deal with you and Ero-Sannin!"

Kakashi barely managed to pull himself free of the hysterical genin.

Kurenai smirked at Kakashi's expense as Gai tried to help him keep Naruto from latching onto him again. However, she managed to continue without beginning to laugh, "Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke will be squad two."

Sasuke and Neji turned to glare at each other suddenly, while Hinata merely nodded in acceptance. However, the glaring contest was interrupted when they heard, "That means you're with me" and turned to see Kagome smiling at them.

Naruto began to cry, grabbing onto Kakashi-sensei's arm for dear life. "No!" he cried out, his watery eyes turning toward the sensei he'd wanted. "No! I get the pervert, and Sasuke-teme gets the pretty girl as his sensei! I told you he takes everything, Kakashi-sensei! I told you!"

Kakashi tried to pull away again, watching as Gai began to pull at Naruto's shirt in order to get the genin to release him. "Naruto," he tried to reason with him. "It will only be for two weeks."

"I don't care, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted. "I don't wanna be with another pervert! I wanna be with Kagome-sensei! Please, please don't let this happen to me!"

Kurenai closed her eyes, and said, "Nara Shikamaru, Rock Lee, and Haruno Sakura will be squad three."

Inuyasha smirked, "That means you're mine."

Sakura cringed, noticing that Lee was jumping up into the air like crazy. She turned her head a little and watched as Shikamaru sighed, bowed his head, and repeated his famous line of "how troublesome". Tears nearly formed in her eyes. She knew that Kakashi-sensei had said her two new teammates would be  _new_ , but she still liked being on Sasuke's team, and she wasn't sure how much of Lee's devotion she could handle. However, her face scrunched up a bit as she thought about who had been placed onto each squad and gasp at the moment Kurenai began to speak again.

"Which leaves squad four as Akimichi Chouji, Aburame Shino, and—" she was cut off, and turned her attention to the last student whose name she was about to call.

"Wait," Ino said, confused. "You said that we'd all be with people we'd never trained with before. Chouji and I are on the same squad with Asuma-sensei."

Asuma allowed his cigarette to slip a little from his lips for missing that when they were making the new squads. Frowning, he scratched the back of his head, "Seems that you're correct, Ino. However, that's a small miscalculation on our part, and since the other squads have already been decided there's no reason to change it now. I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with it for the next two weeks." It seems that they were more set on their vacation time, though they weren't going to tell the students that's what they were going to do, that they'd missed that tiny detail.

"R'okay," Chouji said continuing to munch on his chips.

"But, Asuma-sensei!" Ino whined. "You could change Chouji out for Sasuke-kun and that would make it so that we're all on different teams!"

Sakura stiffened, "No way! If Sasuke-kun's going to change teams then I want him on my team instead of Shikamaru or Lee!"

Naruto sniffled, continuing to hold tight to Kakashi-sensei. "Please, please, Kakashi-sensei! Change places between me and Sasuke-teme! Please!"

Kurenai twitched, "—and Yamanaka Ino." She moved the scroll so that she was no longer directly staring at it, continuing to watch as Ino, Naruto, and Sakura whined. "The squads have already been decided, and though we're sorry that Ino and Chouji were placed back onto the same team, we aren't going to change it now. We believe that the squads are fine as they are, so there will be no more whining." She glared at them, watching as all of them but Naruto, continuing to whine about being on the pervert's squad, shut their mouths.

Ino couldn't believe this. They'd promised that they'd all have new teammates and she still gets stuck with Chouji. Then again, at least she wasn't alone with two new strangers—not that they were really  _strange_ , since she did  _know_  them all—since she knew how Chouji was. She guessed, in a way, she should be thankful; since the others all had to train with two people they'd never trained with before—not to mention a new sensei they had never trained with either. Still, it wouldn't have been that hard to change Chouji for Sasuke; their senseis' were just being mean and unfair! Didn't they know that she was supposed to win his heart and this was the perfect way for her to get close to him? And, she was a little suspicious about Kagome now, with the way Neji and Sasuke stopped glaring at one another to stare at her when she said, in that pretty tone of hers, that they were her squad.

"Squad four is with me," Sango said, allowing a small smile to form on her lips. "Though, that was a little obvious."

Naruto's had tears welling in his eyes, as he continued to cling to Kakashi-sensei. "Please don't do this to me, Kakashi-sensei! Have a heart!  _Please_ , please don't do this to me! I don't wanna be on the pervert's team! Please!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelped in surprise as Naruto slid to the ground, his hand holding onto the sleeve that had torn from his clothing.

"Please," Naruto whimpered. He clutched the torn sleeve tightly, feeling Gai's hands release him. "Please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ketatamashiigan – piercing eye


	3. To Begin

Kakashi patted Naruto on the head once more, trying to comfort the whining genin as he sniffled on the ground. "It will only be two weeks, Naruto," he said again. It seemed that the Higurashi girl had made quite an impression on his young student with her fire jutsu, and because she was quite pleasant to look at.

Naruto shook his head, "Two weeks!"

Kakashi finally straightened himself, noticing that the other jounin were staring at him. Then, staring down at his student, he said, "I expect you to learn something with that time, Naruto. You'll survive, after all."

"But I want to be on Kagome-sensei's squad," Naruto whined again. "It's not fair that Sasuke-teme gets all the good stuff. First you won't train me, making me train with Ero-Sannin, and now, now you've given me another pervert for a sensei!"

Miroku, having finally pulled himself from the ground, wondered what it was about having him as a sensei was so bad. Really, he wasn't that harsh and unlike Inuyasha he would be patient with his students; and unlike Kagome he wouldn't be quick to temper if he was insulted. Truly, he believed that the boy had the better end of the deal, since both his teammates, and even his dear Sango, were not as patient as he could be. "I don't think it will be such a bad thing," he finally spoke up in a calm voice, "Naruto. After all, I know a few different techniques quite similar to Kagome-sama's black flame dragon, I'm sure that if you really worked hard I could teach them to you."

Naruto's eyes brightened at the thought of learning, and he turned his eyes to the jounin that was supposed to become his sensei for two weeks. "You know a jutsu that is as cool as Kagome-sensei's, hentai-sensei?"

Miroku twitched at the nickname, but nodded. "Yes," he continued, "in fact, I know a better one. However, I don't believe that it would be best to use it here, it might cause quite a bit of damage."

Kagome snorted, "As if you know a jutsu better than mine." Her Higurashi pride refused to back down at the challenge, instantly standing up for the techniques that her clan had created in order to help push Suna forward. He may have been on her genin squad, he may still be her friend, but her Higurashi pride refused to believe that he knew a jutsu better than her own.

Miroku sighed, "Ah, Kagome-sama, so easily hostile you can become."

"I'm not hostile," Kagome replied, her voice eerily sweet. "I can't remember a time when I have ever been hostile to you, Miroku."

The image of the back of her hand hitting his cheek went through the minds of the boys standing around, each of them cringing again at the memory. It was either the girl was bi-polar or she truly didn't think that hitting him that hard was considered hostile. It was down right violent, though, and they did not wish to have that anger directed at them. Then, their eyes slipped to the other girl, and knew from the way her hand pulled at the strap of her boomerang that they did not wish to get on hers either. That boomerang looked heavy, there was no doubt that it was and that it would hurt should they be hit with it.

Inuyasha smirked, happy that for once her anger wasn't directed at him. He'd learned when they were younger that the Higurashi was willing to prove, and most of the time able, that she knew many types of jutsu and could control them all until her chakra ran nearly dry. However, he'd learned then that she would turn on him, even if they were in the middle of a fight, if he told her that his jutsu outclassed her own and blasted him with it. It proved just how deeply the rivalry of their clans' ran, how deeply it was written into their very blood, and how stupid it was to have put them onto the same squad in the first place.

Sango sighed, placing her hand onto her fellow kunoichi's shoulder. "Kagome-chan," she said. "Now it not the time to go picking a fight with Miroku. After all, we still need to wish our fellow jounin farewell for the next two weeks, figure out where each of our squads are going to meet, and then learn more about them. Now to  _mention_  that we still need to go visit their Hokage in order to inform her we have arrived—I believe there was something mentioned that she wished to see us in person."

Miroku raised his finger, "I do remember that. We are supposed to inform the Godaime Hokage in person that we have arrived, something about possible imposters being put into our places." However, he knew as he said this that neither kunoichi was paying him any attention. Kagome was straightening herself, obviously wishing to prove something, while Sango was gripping her Hiraikotsu strap tighter when she realized it, too.

Kagome squared her shoulders and stood quite tall. "Hyuuga Hinata," she stated, catching the girl's attention to the point that she almost answered, "heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. Has one younger sibling. Is able to use the doujutsu of her clan and most of the abilities that come with it. She is rather shy, but determined to become strong.

"Hyuuga Neji, prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan—branch member. Also able to use the doujutsu of their clan and unlocked most of the secrets behind it on his own. He is—" she was cut off by her friend.

"I realize that you've done your homework, Kagome-chan, but speaking with them is the only way to truly get to know them." Sango patted Kagome's shoulder, but noticed that her words hadn't stopped Kagome was continuing.

"Uchiha Sasuke, only remaining member of the Uchiha Clan within Konohagakure. His clan was massacred and the only member still living is his elder brother, by the name of Uchiha Itachi—Itachi is currently working with Akatsuki. He is able to use the sharingan, though at what stage I was not able to find. He is aloof and seems rather cold to most, though I have heard that he is willing and able to protect his teammates," she continued. "He is also considered a prodigy."

"Stupid wench," Inuyasha growled.

Noticing that she was getting odd stares for having looked up information on the students they'd be teaching, she snapped her attention to her rival. "Why don't you say that to my face, dobe?" she hissed.

"Feh," Inuyasha replied.

"As I thought," Kagome allowed a small smile to cross her lips, "you did nothing to even try to learn something about the people who'd soon become your students. Most of the information I already knew, simply because I try to keep up with the times, but I understand that you're still too slow in order to even figure out what a scroll or book looks like."

A growl echoed through Inuyasha's chest, but the slight movement of his superior caught his attention. He did not move from his spot, instead telling himself to ignore her cutting words, since she was always trying to push him into responding to her. The hatred between their clans' was deep, written straight into their DNA, but he still hated it whenever she did that. Like she was trying to pull out the fact that it took him longer than her to get the status of genin—even if it was only a couple of months, and then he'd been placed onto their genin squad.

"However," Kagome smiled, "your suggestion is a good one, Sango-chan, and I shall make sure to do so. After all, you're right, only speaking with them will I truly get to know them and understand them to a more personal level."

Miroku nodded to the suggestion as well, before finally saying, "I have heard that there is a bridge near the Hokage Tower, I would like for that spot to be my squads meeting place. Unless," he smiled toward the girls that had come with him, "one of you lovely ladies wishes to take it."

"No, I will find a post close to the gates, since I do not know the village very well at the moment," Sango stated shaking her head.

"I don't want it either, Miroku," Kagome sighed. "You can keep it."

"Ah, very well," Miroku smiled a little more. "Now, all I need is for," he glanced at the three members of his team, "TenTen to show me this bridge and then I will be able to get there every morning for the next two weeks."

TenTen frowned a little, inching away from her new sensei, remembering the way he'd placed his hand onto Kagome's backside as if it were a normal occurrence. Sure, she was a weapons master, but she was positive that pulverizing her sensei for him touching her was against some rule somewhere. After all, he was only her sensei for two weeks time, he was around her age, and he was from another village—one that just happened to be their ally—so she doubted that anyone would disapprove of him touching her if she allowed it. However, she was also certain there had to be a rule about a sensei not touching their students in such a manner, so when she found it she would make sure to shove it in his face.

"I would be happy to show you where the bridge is located, Miroku-san," Kakashi smiled a bit behind his mask. The boy's face dropped in disappointment, but there was nothing to be done about it. After all, his reading was one thing, Miroku's obvious habit of touching women's butts needed to be dealt with. True, he couldn't do much, but he could do something to deter the boy from touching his female student.

Naruto's face dropped too, having wished that his new perverted sensei had chosen Ichiraku Ramen as their meeting place. Of course, he doubted that his new sensei knew that much about the shops around the village, so he couldn't really blame him. Still, it meant that he'd be further from his favorite eating spot then he'd like to be, and he had this twisting feeling in his gut that he didn't like. Something was going to happen and he wasn't going to like it as much as he didn't like the fact that he'd gotten another pervert as his sensei and Sasuke had gotten the sensei he wanted.

Inuyasha frowned deeply, "I want to meet at one of the training grounds in the forest that way I don't have to go search for one later. I'll check them out later, if one of ya guys want to help me look." He looked up expectantly at the Konohagakure jounin, knowing that one of them would give in sooner or later. After all, they'd need a place to train too, not just a place to meet.

"I, the—" Gai was cut off. He sighed a little at it, but allowed the one who'd cut him off to continue. After all, he wanted to be the first to start his vacation, showing up Kakashi as much as he could, thus proving just how much more youthful he was compared to his rival.

"I would be happy to show you the training grounds of all the squads and allow you to choose which you like the best, Inuyasha-san," Kurenai said, smiling a little.

Turning to the three members of her squad, Kagome asked, "Is there a place that serves oden in this village?"

Sasuke scowled at the thought, but said, "The Ichiraku Ramen stand does."

Inuyasha's head swung around so quickly that the other jounin thought he might have hurt himself. However, his mouth dropped open, and he seemed for a moment like he'd lost the ability to speak, before he stuttered out, "D-did you just say r-ramen?"

Naruto's lip quivered at the words. He'd known. God, he'd  _known_. Not only had Sasuke gotten Kagome-sensei, but he'd also be getting his favorite place to eat as his meeting spot in the mornings. "It's not fair!" he yelled, rushing to latch onto Kakashi-sensei once more, but the jounin managed to avoid him completely this time. "Kakashi-sensei, it's not fair!"

"Yeah, what of it?" Sasuke asked, scowling a little harder at the other jounin.

"One of you will show me this stand," Kagome said quickly. "It will be our meeting spot."

"Like hell it will, wench," Inuyasha shouted. "I want the ramen stand!"

Kagome glared at him with as much hatred as she could muster, her voice coming out dripping with venom, "You want to bet?" She wasn't about to give up the place that sold her favorite food to Inuyasha. Hell, she'd fight tooth and nail for the place before she'd ever give it up to Inuyasha. He may be a ramen hog, but she didn't care about that at the moment. He'd said he wanted one of the training grounds, he would get one, but he wasn't getting her ramen stand.

"That seems reasonable enough," Neji nodded. "Hinata-sama and I will be able to show you the stand before we return to the Hyuuga district."

Inuyasha growled, "Shut up, kid. You're not showing that bitch anything, the ramen stand is mine!"

"Just because you're obsessed with the stuff and can't stand to eat anything else—"

"You're cooking sucked," he yelled back at her, knowing that she was talking about their many missions together.

"—doesn't mean that I'm going to give up the chance to eat oden while I'm here. You chose to take one of the training grounds, dobe. You stated you wanted one as your meeting spot, it is not fair that you suddenly get the place that I want just because you're giant stomach can't stand the idea of someone else eating the only meal you'll ever touch," Kagome yelled. "Maybe you should have thought about it when you allowed your stupid mouth to run instead of thinking first!"

Inuyasha's next growl caused Kagome's eyes to flash and for a moment the Konohagakure shinobi wondered why they continued to do so even when she wasn't going into battle. Then, they watched as Inuyasha's nails sharpened to claws, and his ears disappeared before new ones appeared on top of his head. "You stupid bitch, I'm not going to allow you to have that ramen stand," he hissed.

"And I'm not going to allow you to have it," Kagome stated, the markings in her eyes beginning to spin. Then, she smirked, and turned her head to the silent trio. "Gaa—"

"No you don't bitch, you're not bringing the Kazekage into this!" Inuyasha roared. "I know damn well that he'll let you have that damn stand, and as you stated, that's not fair either."

" _Inuyasha_."

Inuyasha's form stiffened and he turned his head to the Kazekage, dipping his head in respect, thus covering his eyes with his bangs. His golden eyes flashed, however, when he caught sight of Kagome, before his claws twitched. "Yes, Kazekage-sama?" he asked softly.

"You will stop this foolishness," Gaara stated. "You have already chosen the training grounds, thus Kagome will get the ramen stand." Knowing that the jounin would take his word as law, he watched as Inuyasha glared at Kagome for several moments until his sand swirled slightly at his feet. Then, he watched as the jounin nodded, and turned away in embarrassment, obviously hating the fact that he'd been brought into the argument.

"Now that that's settled," Kagome rolled her eyes, "I will take you up on the offer of you showing me this stand, Neji." Then, she turned her eyes to the now silent Uchiha, and said, "If you wish, Sasuke, you may accompany us. I would be happy to have the company, and I would pay for your meal. In fact, I would like to extend the offer to each of you."

"Whatever," Sasuke stated, taking notice that Naruto was still whining and clinging to Kakashi's other sleeve. However, he was slightly glad, since this would be the perfect way to find out what it was about this Sunagakure jounin that interested him. Once he found it, and then figured out a way to ignore it, he'd be able to continue on his path to defeating Itachi. Besides, the kunoichi seemed strong, he was positive that something she taught him would come in handy for when he faced off with his brother again.

"T-that would b-be very kind of y-you, Kagome," Hinata paused for a moment, then finished, "-sensei."

"Think nothing of it, Hinata," Kagome smiled. "I would be happy to have possible new friends accompanying me to dinner, especially since I have no idea where I'm going."

Neji dipped his head a little; "Hiashi-sama will want us back inside the Hyuuga district before nine." His head was turned to Hinata, obviously speaking to her, and he watched as the heiress nodded toward him. Then, he turned his head toward the kunoichi that would soon become his sensei, and said, "It  _is_  very kind of you, however, Kagome-sensei."

Kagome's smile brightened a little.

Sango allowed her lips to dip down, as she sighed. "We will still need to visit the Hokage Tower before tomorrow, however. It may be best if we went there first before we decided on anything else."

Miroku smiled, "You make an excellent point, Sango."

Sango turned to glare at him, noticing how close he had gotten over the period of time since he had last spoken. "Don't you even dare, pervert," she tugged at the strap of her Hiraikotsu, showing how serious she was. Now was not the time for his  _affection_ , not when she wanted to make the best impression she could. However, it was still slightly disturbing, and caused a slight twist in her chest, whenever he asked his stupid question or touched a woman's butt.

"I would not even dream of doing such a disrespectful thing, Sango," Miroku replied.

Temari, Sango, and Inuyasha all snorted. Temari because she had been very embarrassed when the jounin came onto her after Gaara became Kazekage. Sango because she knew that he was lying to make himself look better, not to mention get himself from being hit. And, Inuyasha because he had spent so much time in Miroku's presence that he knew the idiot was trying to make people see his  _respectful_  side—though, he always sounded so serious.

Kurenai shook her head, saying, "I would be happy to escort you all to the Hokage Tower, before taking Inuyasha out to show him the training grounds."

"That won't be necessary," Temari stated suddenly. "However, if you wanted, you could take Inuyasha out to see the grounds now, and then bring him to the Hokage Tower when you're done. I don't think that Tsunade-sama will mind very much, especially since she was nearly forty minutes late the last time we came to see her."

"That means that we'll begin understanding each other tomorrow," Sango stated to her squad. "I hope that you'll all be ready, since I plan to start around eight in the morning."

Ino stepped forward, "Sango-sensei, how will we know where to meet you? You haven't picked the place near the gates you want yet."

"When I know, you'll know," Sango smiled secretively.

Ino, Chouji, and Shino blinked in confusion, but decided that they would not question it. After all, they knew next to nothing about the sensei they had been given, so there could be some strange Kekkei Genkai that she was hiding up her sleeve.

Sakura got the same idea, "How will we know where  _you_  want us, Inuyasha-sensei?"

Lee nodded, "Yes, an excellent question!"

"My senses are a lot better than any of yours," Inuyasha snorted. "If I have to, I'll hunt you down in the morning and drag you all there." He was still slightly torched about the fact that that blasted Higurashi once again got the Kazekage on her side. He didn't know what it was, since she didn't seem all that great, but she seemed to draw in more attention than anything else he had ever seen. And, most of the time, he  _loathed_  her for it.

Shikamaru seemed to detest the thought all together as he sighed. "How troublesome," he muttered. He noticed that the strange ears on top of his new sensei's head moved very much like a cat's until they were directed at him. He was sure that his sensei had easily heard what he had said, but was slightly grateful when the Sunagakure jounin simply tensed and then ignored him, his ear turning away.

The newly formed squad two noticed how Kagome's shoulders tensed after she turned away from them, staring disbelievingly toward everyone else. She looked ready to explode, and they were sure she could, but instead she simply let out a whine. "That's not fair, I already made plans!" echoed toward the others, thus gaining them all the attention.

"Kagome-chan," Sango sighed, knowing where this was going. "You can eat your oden tomorrow, and then for the next two weeks."

"B-but!" Kagome protested. "I don't see why we have to go see the Hokage  _now_ —"

"It is very important that we—" Miroku was cut off.

"—when we can go see her  _later_." Kagome allowed her eyes to water, thinking for a moment that her oldest friend might take pity on her, but Sango simply stiffened a little. "I haven't had any good oden in weeks, not since my mother left for some far away mission! Souta's cute, but his cooking worse than mine and his oden tastes like I'm eating dirt!"

Miroku and Inuyasha cringed, knowing from memory just how bad Kagome was at trying to cook. Yes, she could easily do most of the outdoors cooking, quite nicely in fact, but whenever they asked for something to remind them of home she was terrible. It seemed that anything that could remind her of a real kitchen made her nerves fry to bits and her food taste horrible. If Souta was any worse… they shuddered at the very thought, suddenly wondering how she had survived since her mother, aunt, and uncle were sent on that mission seven days ago.

"Besides, from what I've heard, the Godaime Hokage is someone that should be highly respected, unless she ends up going out to gamble, or worse," Kagome closed her eyes for a brief moment, "drink and gamble at the same time. Temari already said that she's late sometimes, so why can't I be late? Please?" She gave them her best impression of a puppy dog, staring wide eye into the crowd of shinobi as they all suddenly stiffened.

"You may go," came a soft command. The others turned to see Gaara staring at the Higurashi girl, who suddenly smiled at him. The Kazekage seemed to be in favor of the girl, which was very strange since it was not long ago that they had witnessed how he acted during the chuunin exams.

Temari frowned at her younger brother. Though he was Kazekage, and she respected his new position, she really didn't think that he should allow the girl to go. This was a very important matter, the Hokage  _wanted_  to see them,  _demanded_  it even. She seriously did not think that he should allow the slight affection he seemed to start showing not long ago for this girl to surface at this time. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Gaara," she said softly, stepping up to his side.

Gaara gave her a small glare, and then returned his aqua colored eyes to Kagome, still smiling brightly at him. It was that smile that stopped him from becoming violent; whether on Temari or the males on her squad, he was not sure. That smile, however, he knew would be going home with him, and along with it would come the woman who wore it so innocently. She would stand by his side, even if she did not know of his feeling, and he felt that in some way he should repay her, since she gave him nothing but absolute loyalty when he did not deserve it. "You may go," he stated once more, "Temari will inform Tsunade-sama that you will visit her in the morning with me."

Kagome bowed, her hair falling around her over her shoulders. "As you wish, Kazekage-sama." She straightened afterward, smiling a little brighter for him, since she knew that he liked it when she did. "I will obey your orders, and in the morning I will escort you to see the Hokage."

The Kazekage simply blinked, and then nodded to the others. "Move," he stated rather coldly. They did not deserve to see, nor did they deserve to even know, that he had grown feelings for his jounin guard. He had allowed her to become so, even though she was not ANBU, because she had shown nothing but acceptance toward him once they had announced he was to be Kazekage. She had had nothing to say, except tell him softly that she had never believed what others had said and now she was seeing their words were false for herself. Her kindness still shocked him slightly, but he was happy that she stood by his side without fear. The others did not know that, and they did not need to begin guessing toward it now.

Kurenai moved to Inuyasha's side, and looked down at the younger jounin. "It would seem that we will be checking out the training grounds for you before I take you to the Hokage Tower." She cocked her head to one side, and took a step forward, "Please, follow me." They both seemed to disappear after that in a great amount of speed.

Temari sighed lightly, pulling at the strap of her fan, before falling into line behind her younger brother. His word was law; she could not change it once he had decided. However, she nodded to Sango when the other kunoichi moved to her side, also falling behind their Kazekage. Miroku soon followed, and shortly afterward Kankurou, as they moved toward the Hokage Tower. She nodded slightly to Kagome as she passed her, though she was slightly ticked that  _she_  would have to tell Tsunade why the second squad leader hadn't shown and why she would be showing up the next morning with Gaara.

Kagome bowed her head when Gaara passed by her, feeling the sand that leaked out around him lightly caress her face and arms. Afterward, she watched as they disappeared into the village, happy that her Kazekage had allowed her this small thing. She noticed almost instantly that the squads belonging to Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha were dispatching themselves, while hers was merely standing there as if waiting for her. Finally, she asked, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Kagome-sensei!"

"Huh?" Kagome turned slightly, and saw that the blonde, Naruto, was staring up at her with hopeful eyes. "Yes? Is there something that you wanted, Naruto?"

"Would you mind if I went to Ichiraku with you?" Naruto asked, feeling a grin tugging at the sides of his mouth.

"I wouldn't mind a bit," Kagome smiled. "Why don't you lead the way?"

Naruto pumped his fist into the air, "Yeah! Ichiraku Ramen, here I come!" He raced off, but made sure that the others would at least be able to follow his trail of dust in order to make it to the stand as well.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered, beginning to follow at a slower pace.

Kagome grinned, stepping closer to the fidgeting Hinata's side. The girl seemed to calm slightly in her presence, but continued to fiddle with her fingers. She had noticed that she began doing that when Naruto had spoken, and she had a pretty good idea why. However, it was not her place to ask, even if she was just bubbling to ask the girl if her guess was true. She was supposed to be the sensei, the one who taught them, and that was  _probably_  not sensei behavior. Though, she wouldn't know, since she had had a woman named Higurashi Chinatsu as her sensei, and her elder cousin had loved to get into her business.

* * *

"Oden! Oden! Oden!" Kagome sang, clapping her hands together.

Hinata smiled, blushing slightly when Naruto had a bowl placed in front of him and he instantly began to shove the noodles into his mouth. A small sound caught her ears, making her notice that Sasuke was staring disapprovingly at his teammate, even though a small amount of humor entered his eyes for a quick second. After that, she turned her sight toward her cousin, sitting on the right side of their new sensei, and wondered what he could possibly be thinking as he stared at her.

"Here you are," Ayame said as she placed a bowl of steaming oden in front of the cheering girl. A smile made its way onto her face, as the girl instantly gave her thanks, and mumbled about how good it was as she stuffed some into her mouth. She had no doubt that the girl would end up being as  _bad_  as Naruto when it came to ramen. However, she was happy to see the girl enjoying herself, and went to get the remaining bowls that were ready to be served.

"So," Kagome said between bites, "what do you like to do, Neji?"

The white-eyed male simply blinked, and turned when a bowl of miso ramen was placed in front of him. He took a small sip from his tea, and basically ignored the question asked.

Kagome frowned, then sat straighter, "As your sensei I demand you answer."

"Training."

"A single word answer?" Kagome asked. Her thoughts moved quickly, and then she said, "You don't like to share your thoughts, that is why you refused to answer me directly the first time. However, that might mean that you have insecurities about your position in life." She turned away before he was able to answer anymore, her calculating eyes turning to the other boy near her. "And you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shot her a small glance, and stated, "Training, as well."

"I see, you strive to become stronger, whether for the right reasons or not," she turned away from him as well, and turned her eyes to her final squad member. "You, Hinata?"

"A-ah," Hinata blushed a bit, "I-I like t-to, um, well—I, um…"

Kagome stared at her for a moment, and then smiled. "You are innocent."

Naruto lifted his head, and blinked a few times as Kagome turned back to her oden. He wondered what the conversation was all about, but decided not to ask. After all, there was no reason for him to get into a discussion between members of  _another_  squad, especially when Kakashi-sensei refused to move him to Kagome-sensei's squad. It simply was not fair, but he hoped that Kagome-sensei would be willing to buy him more ramen in the future. If she was willing to pay, he was willing to eat it.

"I hope that by the time I am done with your training these next two weeks that I can change that just a bit," Kagome finally continued. "Even if I won't be able to change you completely, I hope that I can help you enjoy more things. Be stronger. Live life to the fullest, because it is mean to be enjoyable in some sense. We might be shinobi, but that does not mean that we can't be happy as well as strong."

Hinata opened her mouth, and then closed it, unable to respond for some strange reasons. The words sank deeply into her heart, caught by the strings that hung and wished nothing more than to hear such words. However, she was very hopeful— _very_  hopeful—because maybe Kagome-sensei would be able to help her with more than simply training. Maybe she would be willing to help her with other things as well.

Sasuke frowned.

Neji's eyes narrowed. She was much calmer, more relaxed than she had been earlier, it was clear to see. She was reaching deeply into what she believed in, telling them something from her heart, that was also clear to see. However, whatever reason she had, whether she was meant to teach them or not, had yet to be deciphered in his mind. Though, he would be willing to bet that it was either because she wanted to become closer to them, on a personal level, or because she simply wished to truly help them achieve the greatest amount of power they could under her training.

Naruto stopped eating, staring at the Suna girl for a long moment. He had known she would be a great sensei; that was why he wanted her so much, not just because she was pretty. "Vooh," he breathed, his mouth full as he stared at her. From the way she had acted around that Inuyasha fellow, he would never have guessed that she would become so deep. It was almost as if he was looking at a completely different person from the somewhat shy and easily angered girl she had seemed like—in fact, she seemed…  _older_ , wiser.

"Now, how about we get around to telling each other a little about ourselves?" Kagome smiled, her attitude returning to a cheerful one. "I personally believe that it is pointless to list off likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future, but it is the easiest way to assess another persons personality. So, why don't we start with you," she turned and smirked, "Neji."

"Wouldn't it be more productive if you began?" Neji asked. "That way we would know how you wish us to respond."

"I believe the details were pretty straight forward, but I will go first if I must," Kagome sighed. "I like many things, ranging from oden to gaining more power in order to help protect my village—it would actually take forever for me to list all of the things I enjoy. However, I dislike spiders, Taisho Inuyasha," she narrowed her eyes in thought, "cockiness, people who will not even listen to another opinion, and  _Inuyasha_ —"

"U-um, Kagome-sensei?" Hinata said hesitantly. When she got her new sensei's attention, she continued, "You s-said Inuyasha t-twice."

"Did I?" Kagome frowned. "Dang, I'm always doing that!"

The look on her face made it quite clear that she did not actually care. Whatever reason she had for disliking Taisho Inuyasha, even if it was only because of the rivalry between their clans, or some other reason, she did not care that she showed it so blatantly. Actually, the way she had smirked and chuckled were obvious signs that she had meant to say his name more than once in the first place. Even one with low observation skills should have been able to see it clearly.

"Anyway, my dream is to become strong enough that I do not need to watch my friends fall in battle, because I will be able to help them survive," Kagome said softly. "I used to strive forward in order to step ahead of my elder sibling, but I found that that was too much too soon, so I decided to find something that I could reach. I dream now of a life surrounded by my loved ones, whether friends or more, because I was able to protect them, instead of them protecting me. And, I hope that if I cannot watch that happen, that I die honorably in battle."

She allowed them to go next, listening intently as they spoke of their own dreams. She knew that would be more important for when she was training them, because then she would know what she was training them for—their likes and dislikes were just added bonuses so she got along with them the best she could. She listened as Hinata spoke of becoming strong enough for others to notice; when Neji spoke of his future being written already, yet unfocused and able to change; and as finally Sasuke spoke of his ambition to kill his brother. She listened, silently watching them even after Naruto moved to the front of the ramen stand and waved happily as he said goodbye, because it was important that she did.

This was the beginning, whether good or bad. She needed to prepare for when they began the next day, and she hoped that she would be able to do it correctly. Especially since she was only doing this because Gaara had ordered her to, stating that she was one that he had chosen for the mission. The only experience she had was listening to her old sensei, and even that was not very good.


	4. Mission One, Part I

She jumped, grabbing the holster on her thigh as she gazed down at the kunai that had landed between her feet. Her breath picked up, wondering if they were under attack, if she needed to be ready at that moment. However, when she sensed nothing, and was not impaled by more projectiles, she allowed herself to gaze closely at the kunai resting so innocently between her feet. On it was a strip of white paper, and she watched as it blew lightly in the wind, the words jumping out at her instantly. Her eyes widened, before she nearly lost her footing, wondering at the strange little doodle that had been printed onto the strip of paper after the written message.

Bending down to take the kunai from the ground, she glanced upward, and wondered for a moment if the quick movements within the shadows was the new sensei her new squad had been assigned to, or merely something she had seen. TenTen was not quite sure, but knew there was a good possibility it was from the message she had been given. She shuddered slightly, wishing that she could have convinced Gai-sensei to put her onto another squad, but knew from watching Naruto that that was not going to happen.

Once more TenTen glanced down at the message on the strip of paper, and twitched. The Sunagakure shinobi obviously thought highly of himself, especially if his companions constantly turned hostile on him, as Neji's new sensei had done. However, she could not help but allow her lips to twitch slightly at the words printed neatly and boldly on the thin paper.

' _TenTen, you have twenty minutes to meet me at the spot I chose. From, your devilishly handsome new sensei, Miroku._ '

After it was a small doodle of himself giving her a smirk while holding his chin in his hand. It was a rough sketch, poorly drawn, but obvious in design of what it was supposed to be. That, and the way he had signed his name was the most ridiculous thing someone had ever given her, whether it was for missions or otherwise. Not only that, but as she peered closer, she realized that there were little arrows pointing to the doodle, and little fireworks, while descriptive words had been sprawled all around it in a rather awkward circle.

Tucking the kunai away, TenTen turned away in order to return inside to retrieve the items she was not currently carrying. After all, she sighed, there was no telling what her new sensei was going to put her through, and she had a feeling that she would need to protect her butt.

* * *

"So, did you determine anything good about your squad last night, Kagome?" Temari asked. She ignored Kankurou when he muttered about how she should not care, taking note how the girl following her younger brother turned slightly toward her with a smile.

"I believe they will work well together!" Kagome exclaimed. "Of course, that will be after I stop them from hating each other, since I felt a lot of hostility as I left between Neji and Sasuke."

"Well, they are of rival clans," Temari nodded. "Like you and Inuyasha."

"Hah!" Kagome laughed. "That dobe isn't my rival, he's simply a nuisance that I have not been assigned to kill yet. Once I am, though, he'll go down without much trouble, since my clan's techniques have been specifically designed in order to counter anything a Taisho throws at us. Then, no one will ever get the wrong impression about us again, because they will know that my clan is better than his."

Kankurou smirked, deciding to nudge his way into the conversation. "Isn't it said that a long time ago your clans were nearly family?" he asked. He watched as Kagome stiffened, and knew that she was about to blow, but shifted his eyes slightly as she swiftly turned halfway, her chest heaving in her anger. His eyes gleamed, enjoying the sight as she spouted off some nonsense about them  _never_  being close, when it was common knowledge in Sunagakure that they had been very close until some type of betrayal inside the clans.

"—there is no way that I would ever consider that stupid rumor true!" Kagome growled. "Our clans are far too different to have ever been close, and they never will be!"

Temari shook her head, before slapping the back of Kankurou's head when she noticed where his eyes were located. Kagome refused to wear anything loose fitting, declaring that her traditional Higurashi robes showed her status both as a member of her clan and a member of Suna. However, she knew full well that it caused her body to be shown a bit more than the girl would like it to be, no matter how good it was in certain situations. One day the Higurashi would realize that and most likely switch to the more causal clothing of her clan, but for now she would simply stop Kankurou from ogling her like a piece of meat.

"Ow, what the hell, Temari!" Kankurou shouted. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yeah," Temari drew out, shaking her head slightly. "I saw where you were looking."

Kankurou scowled, "I was not!"

"Were too!" Temari growled.

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Yes, you were!"

Kagome blinked, inching closer to Gaara as the siblings fought between themselves. Shifting herself, she smiled at the Kazekage's back as they moved toward the Hokage Tower. Her eyes shined, before she realized something as she watched him take each step. "Kazekage-sama?" she asked.

Gaara turned his head only slightly to show he was listening. He wanted to get the additional meeting with Tsunade over with as quickly as possible, which meant getting his siblings there and making Temari speak as quickly as she could. However, he had a feeling that the Godaime Hokage would not be so well this morning from the muttering he had heard from the ANBU assigned to tell them she was ready to see them. Apparently Shizune had been unable to stop her from heading out the night before, which meant Tsunade would be even more irritable this morning and want them out as soon as possible so she could sleep.

"Who will guard you while I am teaching these Konohagakure shinobi?" Kagome asked, her eyes flashing. "I know that I cannot go against your word, Gaara-sama, but I cannot leave you unprotected. My first priority is to keep you safe, and I think that would be the highest priority of any shinobi from Suna."

Gaara paused in step, and finally stopped. He noticed that his elder siblings had stopped as well, eyeing him a bit in curiosity, but it did not matter to him if they saw. Brushing his hand over his clothing, he said, "I am not defenseless."

"I know, but—" Kagome began heatedly, but stopped when his hand rose for silence. She knew her bounds, and she knew that she would do as he told her to. She would never defy his word, but she was concerned for his safety now that she had realized she would spend most of her time with her new squad and not by her Kazekage's side.

She settled her hand onto the younger girl's shoulder, and watched as she glanced up at her. "It has already been decided that Kankurou and I will be watching Gaara's back while you're with your squad. Tsunade-sama even said last night that she would be willing to give up a few ANBU if it becomes apparent that we can't handle ourselves. Don't worry so much, Kagome," Temari said softly. "Besides, you'll be the first to know if we need your help, and I'm sure you'll be the first to get there."

Her eyes blazed, "Of course. I will protect Gaara-sama with my life."

"Tch," Kankurou muttered, "not like you're going to have to. Gaara can take care of himself, and with us following him around, I'm sure that we'll have no problems, and you can go back to standing at his side in Suna real soon. It's not like you need to get your panties into a bunch."

Temari swung at her brother again, watching as he moved in order to avoid the attack. "You're such a pervert, Kankurou," Temari seethed.

"Hey, what did I do now?" Kankurou asked, his eyes widening when Temari's hand went to the strap of her fan. He never understood why Temari felt the need to hit him, when it was clear that Gaara was constantly getting all the action. Hell, his brother had been like a monster less than a year ago and already he had a woman that wanted to stand at his side for no reason other than to protect him. Gaara got to stare at her while she wore that tight clothing, and order her to do anything that he wanted her to do. Gaara was probably the one constantly dreaming of what he would do to her, so why was it that he was constantly the one being hit?

Kagome ignored them, turning her eyes back to the aqua ones staring at her. She then lowered her eyes respectively, wondering why she felt a little weak because she could not do both at the same time. "I understand now, Gaara-sama," she said. "I will do as you have assigned me, and train my squad the best I can."

Gaara turned away, knowing that she would do as she said, for she had never lied. His eyes shut for a moment, allowing the feeling that swept over him to sink deep into his mind and settle there. He was glad that he had had his battle with Naruto, because the world he saw now was much better than the world he had seen before. Turning his head only slightly to watch her begin to follow him, he was glad that she had wanted to work beside him. Her loyalty was something amazing, and he knew that he had been lucky to have it directed toward him.

* * *

As soon as the ANBU posted outside the Hokage's office saw who had arrived, the door was swiftly opened, whether the Hokage was prepared for his visit for not. However, Gaara did not acknowledge the masked man with more than a glare when he noticed that his head had turned to the girl standing behind him and just a bit to the left. He was pleased when the ANBU swiftly turned his head, but the small amount of anger bubbling beneath his skin did not leave until he was positive she had entered the Hokage's office and the door was shut behind them. So, it was obvious how Tsunade managed to notice and snicker knowingly at his tense stance.

Tsunade rubbed a bit at the sore spot on her forehead, before giving a small yawn. "So," she began, glancing at the black clothed Higurashi, "this is the final brat you brought with you?" She snickered again when she noticed that Gaara began to glare at her, and wondered if she should try and provoke him a bit more, but decided against it when she noticed the slight rattling of his gourd. She had a feeling that he had a long way before he was completely rid of his killing instinct—the wish to kill that Naruto had once described to her—and she did not wish to be challenged or killed because she had insulted his little girlfriend.

Temari quickly stepped forward, remembering a time when someone had tried to get Kagome to go out on a date while using some misplaced words. "Yes," she said, "this is Higurashi Kagome. I believe that we gave you the information you needed on her yesterday."

Tsunade shoved a bit of her paperwork around, and opened the folder that she discovered under the surprisingly small stack. She looked over it, and then ordered the girl to step forward. She was a happy that she was not like that Inuyasha boy, because she instantly did was commanded of her. "I am sure you already know that there is a chance for an imposter to slip by our notice," she received a nod, "which is the reason that I must ask you some personal questions."

"Of course, Hokage-sama, ask whatever you wish of me," Kagome replied. She had nothing to hide, especially not in front of her Kazekage.

"How many siblings do you have?" Tsunade asked instantly. It was a basic question, one that anyone could have found out, but she would ask the questions the way she felt she needed to. Then, when she was sure the girl was tired of being questioned, she would ask her something that only the true Higurashi Kagome would know. If she paused in answering, or could not, she was not even sure she would get the imposter into a jail cell before Gaara attacked, demanding answers.

"Two, but one is disowned and no longer considered apart of my family."

"Name the one not disowned," Tsunade stated her next question.

"Higurashi Souta," Kagome said.

"Your father's occupation?"

"ANBU, he was killed in action," Kagome swallowed a bit. Though it was true, it hurt just a bit to know that  _again_  she had had to remind herself that one day he was not simply going to walk in the door. Shinobi died, it was the way of life, and he had wanted to die honorably and he had gotten his wish.

Tsunade noticed the pain in the girl's eyes when she answered the question more than she had needed to. In fact, she was about to ask when he had died, and how, but decided to direct her questioning elsewhere. She understood that look, knew how much it hurt to have someone torn away from her, and her doubt that this was Higurashi Kagome softened a bit. "When did you become a genin?"

"At the age of six," she answered.

Tsunade then asked for the exact date and received the answer just as quickly. "Your squad, who did it include?"

"Higurashi Chinatsu, Taisho Inuyasha, and Yasuo Miroku," Kagome said.

Tsunade shuffled through the paperwork a bit, and then spotted something a bit odd for a Sunagakure shinobi. So, with a small smile, she lifted her head and asked, "What animal are you able to summon, and at what age did you learn the technique?"

Kagome straightened herself a bit more, "I learned how to summon on my tenth birthday, a gift from my mother. The creature I summon is a—"

* * *

Naruto scowled, watching Kiba as he patted Akamaru on the head. The nin-dog backed and wagged his tail, before snickering at something that Kiba said. However, he was not really paying attention to what was happening between them, his mind going back to when a stupid kunai broke through his apartment window and dug a nice hole in his floor—just more damage that he would have to pay for, even if he had not caused it. Not to mention the one who did it was most likely not going to do anything about it, and he could only hope that he did not continue to do it for the remainder of the time he was there.

With a huff Naruto slumped to the ground, crossing his legs very childishly as he glared at the ground. This sensei was already as bad as Kakashi-sensei, since he was ten minutes later than his note stated he would be, and he had hit on Sakura as if she was nothing more than one of Kakashi-sensei's  _novels_.

TenTen gave a small sigh, wondering why their new sensei was already twenty minutes later than he said he was going to be. However, she had taken notice that she had arrived first, which meant that he had probably given her the message first, which meant he was not  _that_  late, but definitely late. Though, that gave her reason to glance about once or twice, wondering if he had been in the trees watching them, watching  _her_ , and waiting for a moment in order to—

"Hello, my delightful students!"

Reflectively, Naruto jumped to his feet and yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!" After the words left his mouth, he glanced around, wondering why Sakura's voice had not added to the volume of his own, only to realize that they had been placed onto different squads. He sighed, and twitched, because Sakura had gotten the guy with the cool sword, and Sasuke got the pretty girl with the awesome jutsu, while  _he_  got the pervert.

Miroku scratched the back of his neck lightly, before saying, "There is a wonderful explanation for that. I randomly chose which of you I gave my messages to, and then I waited in order to see if you would follow my instructions. I'm sure you're aware that it is good to follow your sensei's instructions, but perhaps not if it endangers the life of your teammate. So, I merely wanted to practice a routine exercise that my sensei often pulled on me, though she usually had Inuyasha and myself up three hours before the arrival time and brought Kagome when she felt we'd waited long enough."

"That doesn't explain why you left us waiting here so long after we all arrived!" Naruto shouted.

"Ah, that is easily explained as well," Miroku grinned charmingly, "because there were three lovely young ladies that seemed to just draw my attention to them. And though they tried to deny it, they were only playing hard to get—"

Akamaru barked suddenly, and Kiba looked down at his companion nodding. "Yeah, I noticed that stink, too," he smirked. Then, turning his head toward the fourteen-year-old supposed to be their sensei, he said, "Akamaru and I think that those women were really  _hard_  to get, since they were giving off a scent that would tell even the dumbest animal that they weren't welcome."

Miroku scowled, "Yes, well they simply did not know what they wanted. They were obviously confused after I stepped into their path so dazzlingly. After all, it is easy to get confused when someone such as I steps into the path of such a lovely female while they are talking with their fellows about the newest fashion. They were simply bewildered."

"More like hostile," Kiba chuckled. Akamaru gave a humorous bark, letting out a few dog-like chuckles as he wagged his tail and turned his attention back to his partner. And within seconds Kiba had returned to his discussion with Akamaru, both of them happy to have one another, instead of being completely alone with people they did not know how to work with.

Miroku shook his head, before smoothing his bangs back a bit. "Even so, I also had to finish setting up a few things. I am now done, and we may begin whenever you would like, since I must teach you something while you're under my watchful eye. Especially since I promised Naruto that I would help him learn a jutsu as wonderful as Kagome-sama's, though I am sure she would tell me that it is not nearly as great." He grinned humorously, remembering all the times that Kagome had turned on Inuyasha because of his foolish words. He was glad for the Taisho's actions, since it relieved him of most of her hostility.

Naruto suddenly grinned, "Yeah! What are you gonna teach me, hentai-sensei? Huh? Huh?" He fisted his hands, thrusting them out in front of him as he bent over a bit. "I'll bet that it'll be totally awesome, and I'll beat Sasuke-teme's butt when I use it against him. He won't know what hit him—"

"Well, I did not plan on beginning that exercise until later," Miroku sighed. "So, I'm afraid you'll have to make due with what I have prepared at the moment, Naruto."

"—and then I'll show him just how good of a Hokage I'll be," Naruto continued, still grinning widely. Then, something came to mind, and his smile began to falter as he said, "But… Sasuke-teme's got Kagome-sensei to teach him, and she'll probably teach him that awesome black dragon technique. She'll probably have tons of totally awesome jutsu to teach him, and… and she'll probably be able to teach him all of them because of that stupid sharingan he's got!" By the time he had entered this part of his thought, his smile was gone, and a deep frown had settled onto his face. "He'll probably even be able to get a kiss."

Miroku, catching onto Naruto's train of thought, chuckled loudly. When he had caught the other shinobi's attention, he said, "I doubt that, Naruto."

"What do you know, hentai-sensei?" Naruto scowled. "Sasuke-teme's got lots of women falling at his feet for no reason! He's got a huge fan club! I kind of feel bad for him sometimes because he's got all those girls chasing after him, pretty or not!"

Miroku shook his head, "You'll find by the end of these two weeks that Kagome-sama is not like most other women. And neither is my dear, sweet Sango." A light, distant expression filled his face as he stared up into the clouds for a few moments, the image of his dear, sweet Sango coming to mind. And then, slowly, the clouds began to form into beautiful bikini clad girls, all of them winking and waving at him. Then,  _oh then_ , he watched as Sango's image replaced them all, Kagome standing just behind her shyly, both with a passion in their eyes just for him.

Naruto blinked, his features softening as he wondered what that could possibly mean. However, as he watched Miroku's expression change, he knew instantly when he had turned into an exact copy of Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sannin, and he scowled distastefully. Pretty women were one thing, but he would  _never_  understand why the older shinobi around him needed to fantasize so much, instead of simply going after the real thing.

"Oh, Sango," Miroku sighed blissfully, earning him odd and disgusted looks.

* * *

"So, Kagome, did you ever arrange a meeting time for your squad?" Temari asked. She glanced back at the Hokage Tower, wondering why in the world Tsunade had taken so long to ask one simple question that only a Higurashi would know. She would have just asked in the first place instead of trying to wear her down, but she also knew it was Higurashi Kagome from the way she acted and responded around her brother. She had watched them close enough for the last few months to know that an imposter would never be able to respond correctly—and she was positive that Gaara knew that, too, which meant any imposter would most likely die at the first mistake.

"Oh, I didn't give them an exact time, but I told them to go to the Ichiraku Ramen stand at eight," Kagome grinned. "I put a sign up saying that if I wasn't there that they should go to training ground eight and wait in a meditative state."

"Are they even going to know what that means?" Kankurou asked suddenly.

"Probably not," Kagome smiled, "since my clan does do a few odd things, but I'm hoping that at least one of them will. Even if they don't, that's not important, since I'm not here to teach them that, but to broaden their shinobi techniques." She tilted her head to one side, and said, "I'm expecting to find Hinata trying, Neji bored, and Sasuke sitting in a tree somewhere, though!"

Kankurou shook his head, before saying, "I don't see how the Hokage could think  _anyone_  would be able to impersonate you. Everyone in your clan is odd."

Kagome turned to glare at him, fire burning within her eyes. "Tell me, would you like to know what it feels like to take Inuyasha's punishment for five minutes, Kankurou?" she asked. "Because, at this moment, I think I would very much like to teach you how hard he hits the ground."

Kankurou shuddered, and quickly shook his head. Once the girl returned to watching Gaara's back, he sighed and muttered about how angry she always was around him. It was not his fault that her clan did such odd things—probably hiding something, as  _he_  had always said—and there was no reason for her to suddenly turn on him. Hell, he was the Kazekage's brother, he deserved a bit of respect once in a while, yet she seemed to often ask him whether he would like to be hit like Miroku or beaten like Inuyasha.

Temari smiled, and fell back so that she was in step with Kagome. "How long do you plan on making them wait?" she asked after a few moments. If she remembered correctly, Kagome's sensei had been a woman who often liked to drink before missions, be late on more than one occasion, and constantly tease her about the fact that they were related. It would only be right if she had picked up a bit of her habits, though she knew the girl would never touch any heavy alcohol and was far too nice to keep anyone waiting for more than twenty minutes. In fact, she remembered a time that she almost hurt herself because she had woken late, thus arriving in the Kazekage office late—but, of course, that could have been because she felt she had disappointed him in her tardiness.

"Not long," Kagome smiled. "I made sure to go there yesterday with Hatake-san when he offered and I set everything up."

"What are you planning to make them do?" Temari asked curiously. She had often heard that Kagome's sensei had been slightly insane, so there was a chance that some of it was handed down to her relative.

"I'm planning on making them search for—"

* * *

Hinata frowned, before saying, "Neji-nii-san, I-I really think that y-you should be at least trying to do w-what Kagome-sensei asked of us."

Neji sent her a small look, and shook his head. "I see no point in meditating the mind," he replied. "I am not facing danger, and at this moment I do not think I need to calm my emotions."

"B-but," Hinata tried. "K-Kagome-sensei said—"

"Tch," Sasuke butted in, "Kagome-sensei  _wrote_  and asked us if we would  _please_  try to meditate while we were waiting for her. The way she wrote it was obviously not a demand, which means that we don't have to do it, and she probably doesn't have a punishment set up if we don't."

"I-I still think that—"

Their attention snapped to the large amount of chakra suddenly appearing as sand gathered along the ground in the area. It was obvious from the golden grains that it was Gaara who was going to arrive, but Sasuke and Neji tensed in case there was another sand user like him. They doubted it when they noticed the way the sand moved as it gathered, swimming along the ground out of the forest and straight into their line of view, until a large mound followed and quickly mixed with the sand that had already congregated.

Once the remaining trail collected with the other particles, the large amount of sand rose into the air, and then fell away from the shadows forms once hidden from view. Gaara's red hair was the first thing to appear, the sand slithering down his face and neck before slipping up into the gourd on his back. After his features had been exposed, the figure buried into his chest began to move, quickening the speed of the sand as it moved over their clothing and flesh. The person stood just high enough to reach Gaara's chin, but it became apparent that the person was bent slightly as they straightened, reaching his forehead, before finally pulling away from the Kazekage. Only a moment went by before the person turned, but the long hair being uncovered from the sand made it quite clear that their sensei had arrived.

Kagome shivered as the sand slid over her arms, rolling over itself and up into Gaara's gourd. She sighed a bit, having never really liked being buried in sand since her brother had used his first wind style jutsu. However, it had been warm, and the feeling of Gaara's hands gripping her arm and waist, though they had fell away with the sand, had been comforting. The sand did not bother her too much, because she would protect her Kazekage and in return he would help and protect her, as he had once stated.

"G-good morning, K-Kagome-sensei!" Hinata greeted. Her cheeks heated slightly when Kagome cast her eyes over them, as she quickly got to her feet, feeling slightly foolish for having tried to do something she had never truly gotten. To make matters worse, both boys on her squad had completely ignored her pleas, when she had hoped that at least one of them—she knew that Neji could have—would have been able to help her understand  _what_  she was supposed to be doing exactly.

It was exactly as she had told Temari it would be, since Neji was standing next to Hinata with a bored expression, Hinata had been on the ground and was now embarrassed from trying to meditate, and Sasuke had positioned himself up in a tree nearby. A small smirk appeared onto her face, since she had won twenty dollars off Kankurou when he had the foolish mistake of asking her if her prediction was wrong, and then betting it would be. It quickly disappeared as she turned her attention to the female on her squad, and said, "Hello, Hinata. Are you ready for your first mission?"

"M-mission?" Hinata asked. She remembered hearing about the test that Naruto's team had been put through, and the other random tests that their senseis' had come up with before. However, she was not quite sure what to make of her Sunagakure sensei's words, since it was clearly too soon before they could go on a mission. Neji and her would probably be able to work well together, but she was not quite so sure when it came to Uchiha Sasuke, since he did not seem to be familiar with the Hyuuga style.

"Yes," Kagome smiled brightly. "I made it all by myself, though I have to admit that it is slightly based off the test that my sensei gave my genin squad. But, it will be quite different, since even now my sensei complains about me surpassing her. Oh, yes," she looked behind her, "Gaara-sama will be watching, since I pulled him away from his siblings and they might take a while to get here—Kankurou was complaining about being hungry."

"What is our mission?" Neji asked. He wondered for a moment how a shinobi could seem so altruistic, always smiling and happy unless she was around that  _one_  person she could not stand. However, he quickly pushed the thoughts away, since he did not care why she was always putting others before her, especially when it was clear she  _should_  when it came to Gaara. She was from Suna, Gaara was her Kazekage; it was obvious that she should give up everything and anything for him, whether she wished it or not.

With a small movement of her wrist three colored sticks were pulled from her sleeve and she quickly tugged them the rest of the way out. They were ordinary, and each the same dimensions, which made their coloration the only difference between them, for one was white, one yellow, and the other blue. "Your mission is split into sections," Kagome began, "for first you will need to find my summon and retrieve from it a message that will lead you to the second part of your mission. Once you have gotten the message, you will follow its instructions, and if you do so you will find me. If you do as the message says, and I will know if you didn't, you will have take these from me," she gripped the sticks, "but I promise you that I will not hand them over without a fight."

"H-has your summon a-already been released?" Hinata asked curiously.

"No," Kagome said, before another thought popped into her head. "Oh, and it is best to remember during this mission that things might not always be as they appear," she pulled the white stick away from the others with her other hand, and twisted it slowly between her fingers, "which is the reason I expect you to try and get this piece here. If you don't, well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens when you can't see things as they really are."

* * *

"Mission?" Kiba blinked. "What exactly is this  _mission_?"

"I have put thirteen strips of paper onto random trees within the surrounding forest," Miroku stated, his face becoming very serious. "Your mission is to try and locate each piece within an hour while relying on one another. However, do not think that because this mission sounds simple that I have made it so. You must watch for anything out of the ordinary, and you must be alert for enemy attacks. For this mission, you must have open eyes, but also open minds."

Naruto frowned, saying, "That still doesn't seem that hard, hentai-sensei."

Miroku cast his eyes over them, and the genin tensed when they noticed how sharp his eyes had become. "Yes, but you will find that it will become harder the more time you waste," he replied.

Kiba smirked, looking down at Akamaru as his nin-dog gave a happy bark, allowing him to know that he could already smell the trail their sensei had left behind. If the mission was going to get harder the more time they wasted, then it was a good thing he had Akamaru, since his friend could sniff out almost anything. His nose would find the trails leading to each strip of paper, and then they would walk out of that forest with a grin on their face when their new sensei realized they were not pushovers. Glancing at his teammates, he allowed his smirk to get a little bigger, since he had the good-looking weapons master and Naruto, who had proven to him that he was a lot more powerful than he first appeared. "So," Kiba asked, "when do we start?"

Miroku's happy smile returned to his face, and he glanced up at the sky for a moment, watching the clouds as they roamed over the vast blueness. "I would say," he began, "right about…  _now_."

TenTen quickly lifted her arms to protect her face when the explosion happened, and listened to the chuckles her sensei gave off through the noise. Her feet slipped on the ground, and she could bet that the others were not doing so well themselves when the wind whipped wildly toward them, pushing her further backwards. She dug into the ground, forcing her body to stay upright, as she heard loud barking and a sudden yelp.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, turning when the wind finally began to die down. His eyes searched frantically for his companion, before they cast over Naruto, noticing that the blonde had managed to catch Akamaru. He sighed, having thought that his friend had slammed into a tree from the yelp he gave, but figured that he must have hit Naruto's thick head.

Naruto shook his head, watching as dirt fell to the ground from his shoulders and hair. Holding the nin-dog a little tighter to his chest, he looked over at Kiba and grinned widely. However, his grin quickly faded when a pair of fangs latched onto his arm, and he yelled in pain. "What the heck!" he screamed, trying to yank the white dog from his arm, "Why the hell are you biting me, you stupid dog?! GAH, get off!"

Unable to help himself, Kiba snickered, before calling for Akamaru. The dog let go of Naruto's arm, and quickly pushed against his chest in order to return to his side. The blonde shinobi fell to the ground, waving his arms wildly in the air as he whined about how he had not done anything to deserve being bitten or knocked over. Then, he watched as Naruto pouted, looking slightly angry and crestfallen as he crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest. Kiba allowed another snicker to escape his lips when Akamaru jumped into his arms, because Naruto kicked at the dirt and began to whine about why he deserved to be stuck on a team he did not want, when he should have gotten Kagome-sensei.

TenTen sighed and shook her head at the childishness that her two new squad members were showing. Kiba appeared to be highly amused by Naruto's slight injury, and Naruto appeared to be ready to put the blame of his situation onto anyone and everyone's shoulders, but mainly Hatake Kakashi's. "I think," she said, catching their attention, "that we should be concentrating on the mission we've been given, instead of allowing more and more time to pass as we complain."

"I'm not complaining!" Naruto shouted.

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that," Kiba chuckled.

Naruto turned slightly red in the face, and then replied, "S-shut up, you…  _you_  dog-loving freak!"

"Freak?" Kiba asked. "I think you should try looking in the mirror once in a while, Naruto!" He growled at the insult, listening as Akamaru quickly agreed, beginning to growl with him.

TenTen twitched, and then wondered if she would have to resort to violence in order to get these two to listen to her. Naruto had quickly gotten off the ground and jumped in front of Kiba in order to thrust his face into his. Then, they began to yell at one another, Akamaru barking continuously, and she could just bet that he was throwing his own insults into the mix. Instinct told her that they would not stop for quite some time, which would shorten their limited hour, so she allowed her hand to slip into the holster on her waist. However, as her hand wrapped around the cool steel, she saw Kiba whip his head to the left.

Kiba allowed his eyes to widen, the sound of splitting wind overtaking the sound of Naruto's shouts. The small sound sent him into action, quickly pushing both him and Naruto to the ground as Akamaru leap out of his arms to avoid being crushed between them.

"AH!" Naruto yelled, his back hitting the ground roughly. His yell was cut short, though, when only seconds later six shuriken hit the ground near his head, the metal gleaming malevolently in the sunlight. He gulped, feeling Kiba let go of his arm as he rose, before he reached down in order to help him to his feet. Naruto took his hand, and glanced in the direction that the shuriken came from, noticing a dark shadow moving through the trees.

"Move!" TenTen shouted when she noticed the next barrage of weapons flying at them. She raced to the right, moving toward the trees before veering off to the left, hoping that the boys were following her. However, even if they were not, she hoped that they were not harmed in the attack.

* * *

A loud bang echoed into the forest as a dark figure shot out of the smoke that filled the air. It rose into the air, obviously able to fly, before spreading its wings and doing a quick flip, and even in the distance it had created it was obvious that the creature was a bird of some sort. The animal tucked in its wings and fell toward their sensei at an alarming rate, but she did not appear to be worried in the slightest. In fact, she straightened her arm without any hesitation, watching the bird as it soared closer and closer to her. At the last second, however, the large bird unleashed its large wingspan, and flapped continuously until its long talons wrapped around her arm, and its body rested onto her, wings tucking in to its side as its head turned to look at them with bright orange eyes.

"Akeno," Kagome greeted the large, dark bird. Her other hand swept over his near black feathers, before the bird dipped his head and her hand gently touched his auburn beak.

The bird lifted his head, opened his beak, and greeted her in return. "Kagome," he replied, his voice seeming to echo for a short moment, its dark tone heated in a natural, yet strange way. "What is it you wish of this one?"

Kagome continued to pet the large creature, her hand moving over his tail feathers, so long that they nearly reached the ground. "I wish for you to use your speed, and help me in my mission for my squad," she replied.

"This one will do as you ask," Akeno replied, his voice soft.

"Thank you," Kagome smiled. "I am glad to have a friend like you."

"As is this one," Akeno said, a screech escaping his beak as he stared at her. Then, his head turned in order to gaze at the adolescences Kagome had called her squad, for surely the red haired male could not be apart of it. "This one suspects that they are your squad."

"Yes," Kagome nodded. She stopped her petting, and reached into her holster to pull out a thin scroll. She allowed Akeno to take the scroll into his beak, before turning her attention back to her squad. "This is my summon, Akeno," she stated softly.

"A-amazing," Hinata stuttered.

Neji's eyes narrowed when he saw the bird's orange eyes settle onto him for a moment. He had seen birds from Suna while on missions with Team Gai, and he had never seen a bird like that. There was something odd about it, something that caused his legs to tense when it had burst into the open.

Sasuke, however, was the one to ask the question swimming in their heads. "What type of bird is it?"

" _He_ ," Kagome chuckled, "is a bird born  _of_  fire. His kind is not native to Suna, but my mother was a very lucky woman when she came across his mother, Kayo. She created a bond with Kayo, and in return for her kindness, Kayo allowed her to create a summoning pact between them. Then, on my tenth birthday, my mother summoned Kayo, and she approved of me learning the summons, and on that day I was given Akeno's friendship."

Hinata blushed a little as she said, "H-he's beautiful."

"Yes, he is," Kagome nodded. "However, now is not the time to be dallying." She turned her head to Akeno, and saw him nod once, "I believe you know what I wish of you, Akeno. Avoid them by any means possible, but should they surround you or capture you, give to them that scroll and return to my side."

Akeno nodded once more.

"Now, please, do as I ask of you," Kagome said as she raised her arm.

The newly formed squad two tensed as the large bird spread its wings into the air, and then swept them downwards in order to lift into the sky. The bird did not waste time once it had detached itself from its summoner, rising higher and higher into the air, before giving another twirl and falling toward the ground. Hinata and Neji were forced to spring apart when the bird came soaring between them, but they were also forced to bring up their arms to protect their face when the bird surprisingly burst into flames. When the heat died down, squad two glanced toward the forest, watching the now brightly colored bird as it flew deep into the forest, further and further away from them with the scroll they were meant to retrieve.

Neji twisted around when he felt the small surge in chakra, but was not able to determine where their sensei had gone. His eyes bulged, his kekkei genkai activating, but he was not able to detect any sign of Kagome's chakra, and he suspected that somehow she had gotten out of his range.

"Are you two just going to stand there and gawk?" Sasuke asked.

Neji glanced over and glared a bit. "Of course not, Uchiha."

"Lets get moving then," Sasuke stated, channeling chakra into his feet in order to increase his speed. He shot into the forest after the bird, feeling the burst in chakra from both members of the Hyuuga Clan, and knew that they were following him. However, it did not matter to him when he focused his attention onto the bird's decreasing light, its flames either dying down or its speed increasing to keep it out of range.

* * *

Kiba grinned, quickly pulling the strip of paper from the trunk of the tree. He nodded to Naruto, watching as the other genin grinned widely at him. However, he quickly cast his eyes over the forest, looking down at TenTen as she pulled a scroll from her holster. He doubted it would do any good, their sensei had already proven that he was a master of wind style, much like Temari had been when she defeated the weapons master. He was not going to completely rely on that fact, though, because he did not know the full extent of TenTen's abilities, and he doubted that even in two weeks he would.

"That's four down," Naruto cheered. "Nine more to go."

"Yes," TenTen smiled, "but we have to remember that there could be traps anywhere. Miroku-sensei told us to watch for anything out of the ordinary, and I'm beginning to think that that could be something he was talking about." She pointed ahead of her to where the vines were strangely gathered together, "I think we should avoid that, go around somehow, since there's no telling what else he could throw at us."

"Good idea," Kiba said. He then looked down at his companion, and asked, "Akamaru, which way now?" He knew that the dog's nose would always be better than his own, and watched as Akamaru sniffed around for a bit, before finally barking back his answer.

"Well?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Akamaru says that his scent travels straight into those vines," Kiba replied. "They might be a trap, but his scent is coming from inside them. It's too faint to be him, but it could be another piece that we need."

"It could still be a trap, though," TenTen reminded them.

"Well then," Naruto grinned, "we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

TenTen almost jumped in order to stop him, but noticed that he had put his fingers together in a hand seal. She was not surprised when clones appeared around him, each one identical, and looking ready to charge. She had seen him use multiple clones against Neji, and had expected Neji to defeat him easily, but her friend had gotten too confident for his own good and had fallen after a fascinating battle. It was obvious that Naruto had great potential, especially if he could defeat a genius like Neji.

"Ok!" Naruto shouted, pointing toward the area, "Go check it out!"

The clones sprang forth, every one of them shouting with the same intensity that Naruto had used. They easily pushed through the thick vines hanging from a high branch, and began moving further and further into the forest. It appeared safe enough, until it became noticeable that the clones were slowing each time they brushed up against a vine. The deeper they went, and though it was harder to see, it became apparent that the vines were swaying softly, brushing again and again against the clones until one burst into smoke. After the first one fell, the others quickly followed.

Naruto blinked, and scowled. "What happened?"

"They looked like they ran out of energy," TenTen commented.

Akamaru barked, and Kiba sniff the air as well. "It is a trap," he said after a moment. "The scent of chakra is thick in the air now, and I'd be willing to bet that it was sucked right out of the clones."

"So," Naruto frowned, "they steal chakra?" He almost shuddered at the memory of the blue-skinned member of Akatsuki wanting to chop off his legs and arms while he stole the fox's chakra. Uchiha Itachi had been frightening enough, and the added effect of someone being able to steal Kyuubi's chakra from his very skin had almost sent him into a complete internal panic until Sasuke showed up. He was just glad that after he could not summon Kyuubi's chakra that Ero-Sannin had showed up.

"Seems like it," TenTen sighed. "We're going to have to be careful if we have to go inside it. The vines looked like they moved toward the source, which means we'll have to move quickly, and avoid touching them completely."

"What are we standing around here for then?" Naruto asked. He ignored the yells of his new teammates telling him to wait, and pushed himself toward the hanging vines. Within seconds he had reached the vines and twisted left, right, down—left, left, right, down, down, right—and jumped only slightly when the first thin piece of vegetation brushed up against his arm. After the second small brush he grabbed onto his arm, pulling it closer to his body when he noticed that the vines were beginning to move quicker, flicking out at him, and causing him to push himself more to keep out of range.

Akamaru yelped, hiding inside Kiba's hood when they pushed themselves into the vines after Naruto. They were beginning to whip around, much faster than they had with the clones, almost as if they were hungry and ready for the kill now that they had had a taste of chakra. However, the hood did little help when it slipped from Kiba's head, forcing Akamaru to hold on and try to avoid the vines the best he could from his position. The whimpers that escaped his throat made Kiba's anger rise, wondering why Naruto had to be so knuckleheaded and jump right into the center of danger at every turn.

TenTen twisted again and again, dodging the chakra sucking foliage the best she could. Her eyes were focused on Naruto's orange jumpsuit, the brash genin now holding a kunai in one hand and cutting away some of the vines that threatened his path. The method did not seem to be working, though, because each time he managed to slice one from its position, another fell from the branch high above. She glanced around when she noticed Naruto stumble, allowing several of the chakra absorbers to latch onto his limbs, and silently cursed when she how wet the vines seemed. The fire jutsu she had had in mind would do little good in these conditions.

Naruto let out a cry, allowing his chakra to gather, and shouted, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Clones appeared all around him, the hundreds low on chakra, but enough to distract the vines from himself. He raced forward, hoping that the exit was close, and ignored the sounds of the clones around him popping out of existence when he noticed a large, thick tree just ahead of him. The vines seemed to swing away from it, and he grinned as he pushed himself forward again.

Kiba and TenTen were relieved when the vines began to go after the hundreds upon hundreds of Naruto's suddenly in the area. They were all wielding kunai and shuriken, attacking and destroying as many of the chakra absorbing vines as they could before they were destroyed. Though Kiba and TenTen had never seen so many clones at once, they were happy to no longer be the target. However, that did not stop them from wondering where Naruto had gotten the chakra to create all of the extra clones, when it was clear that he had had a large amount drained from his body.

Naruto burst through the final row of vegetation blocking his path and trying to drain him further after so many clones had been taken. The whipping wind was increasing and he turned to watch as the remaining clones he had created gave popped and disappeared. He bit the inside of his lip, fisted his hand, and waited, until finally TenTen broke through the vines, pulling on the few that had wrapped around her arms. Kiba raced through soon after, Akamaru looking exhausted, but still growling and gnawing through a vine that had gotten caught between his fangs. Naruto sighed in relief at seeing them, glad that his new squad had made it through the thick mess.

"You idiot!" Kiba shouted as soon as he saw him. "What the hell were you thinking, rushing in there without a plan?"

Naruto bristled, and raised his hand in the air. "Hey, at least we made it," he yelled back. "And  _besides_ , I didn't see  _or_  hear you doing anything to help us!"

"Yeah, because I was a little more concerned with saving my life!" Kiba replied. "Do you even realize what could have happened if one of us  _had_  used a large jutsu to help the others escape, and then those freakin' weeds sucked them until they were dry! You could have killed any one of us!"

"Maybe next time you should try speaking up!" Naruto snarled.

Kiba growled, "Maybe next time  _you_  should try  _shutting_  up!"

TenTen twitched.

"Or maybe," Kiba continued, "you should try  _thinking_  for once in your life!"

Naruto was cut off before he could even speak. He narrowed his eyes and huffed, watching as Kiba's anger raised another notch. However, he almost flinched when Kiba allowed his final sentence to fly.

"You know," Kiba hissed, "I'm surprised that squad seven is even still alive! Kurenai-sensei told us about that mission where that assassin attacked you guys, because she wanted us to pay a bit more attention to our surroundings, even on lower rank missions. And you know what, Naruto? Your squad was lucky to have a jounin like Hatake-san, and a prodigy like Sasuke, because I bet without them you wouldn't have gotten any type of motivation to move, and you would be—"

"Stop it!" TenTen finally lost it. "That's enough from both of you! It doesn't matter what just happened, as long as we continue to move forward and find the final pieces that Miroku-sensei told us to get!"

Kiba tensed, realizing how loud he had gotten and just how much he was throwing at Naruto. It was not his fault that he had not been able to move at first against such a powerful assassin, especially for his first supposed C-ranked mission. His change in mood caused Akamaru to whimper softly at him, telling him that it was alright, but it was not, because he should not have pushed what had already happened on Naruto. Hell, the blonde had beaten him during the preliminaries of the chuunin exam, which proved that he could adjust, even in harsh situations. "I—I'm sor—"

"You've wasted a lot of time." Their sensei's voice was stern, serious, but humorous in a way. "Unfortunately for you, this tree is quite large, and though you've found my perfect hiding place, I doubt that you can get all the pieces you need before your time runs out."

Naruto's head snapped up, because straight above him was Miroku-sensei, leaning lightly on the staff he had carried into Konohagakure. Almost in slow motion, the pervert pushed away from the staff and grinned in a way that told him the jounin had a trick up his sleeve. Then, he positioned his hand toward them, his feet braced against the trunk of the overly large tree, and Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the small black hole opening up on the palm of his hand.

"You better hurry before your time is  _sucked_  away," Miroku said.

* * *

"Damn it," Sasuke cursed, forcing down the urge to use the sharingan. He might need to use it later, and he did not need the damn mark on his neck reacting before then. Not to mention the fact that he did not need the Hyuuga Clan to know that the only remaining Uchiha in Konoha could not use his kekkei genkai for long. No doubt that the head of their clan would quickly find out once the heir and prodigy knew.

Forcing the urge away completely, Sasuke returned his gaze at the bird soaring ahead of him. It appeared to be only ten yards or less and he would be able to use a water jutsu to stop the flaming creature in its tracks, thus allowing him to catch it. Chakra flared when he realized that fact, but he cursed again when the bird suddenly veered to the left, and he was forced to slam his foot against the trunk of a tree to follow it. Then, he rose his arms once more when the large bird tucked its wings in to spin, and raced through the illusionary fire it created to block his path—he was not going to be tricked by that twice.

Akeno turned his head when he heard the cry of the one following him. His hold tightened on the scroll in his beak, as his emotionless orange eyes watched the shinobi shoot through the steam of fire he had used to burn the forest. Unlike the first time, the fire was real, and it appeared that the boy had gotten a bit burned. When the boy continued to follow him, allowing his burned hand to fall limp at his side, he cast his eyes over the fire and watched as it suddenly died.

Returning his eyes to the forest before him, he swerved away from a tree, and then flicked his eyes toward the forest to his right. The other human boy was following him with increasing speed, his eyes watching him and flickering constantly to the forest in front of him, obviously having problems seeing that tiny spot. He knew that the girl was somewhere in the forest to his left, further behind both of the boys, but also beginning to increase in speed. At the first barrage of weapons thrown by the white-eyed boy, he gave a powerful thrust of his wings, and allowed the flames to engulf him further.

Hinata panted a bit, wondering how much longer the chase could go on. However, she pumped chakra into her feet to increase her speed a bit more, while allowing her hands to flow through the familiar motions. "Byakugan!" she whispered strongly. Her vision sharpened instantly, focusing in on the stream of fire following Akeno, but keeping herself aware of the forest around her. The bird shot out of range of the weapons Neji had unleashed upon it, the fire increasing and causing the air, even at the distance she was positioned, to heat.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and pushed himself to keep following the bird. His hand was throbbing, but he had gotten a small break, since the burn was not that bad—it simply hurt like hell, almost like the fire was still licking over the wounds. His attention moved away from the burn, though, when he saw the bird heading straight for a tall tree, almost as if it planned on heading through the trunk. Bringing both his hands up, he tried to ignore the pain that shot through his arm as he created the hand seals and then brought his hand up to his mouth.

Akeno's head snapped around when he heard, "Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!" His eyes pierced the flames soaring toward him, spreading out so the stream was not headed directly at him, and saw the shuriken embedded inside. He could make out bits of cord as well, and allowed a soft keening to escape him at the sight. The boy might think he could trap him easily, but he would be proven wrong.

Neji prepared another attack when he saw the trap the Uchiha had laid for the bird. However, it appeared the summon was not about to disappoint his summoner when he shifted and soared up the length of the tree he had almost hit. The fire jutsu the Uchiha had unleashed became useless, as well as the shuriken and wire now visible, and the Uchiha jumped out of the bird's flight path when it twisted and soared straight back at him. Neji watched, twisting his head around as he skid to a stop, as the large bird shifted into another line of trees, heading straight for Hinata.

Hinata tensed, gathering chakra into her hands and knowing this was perhaps her only chance at stopping Akeno. Through the flames she could see the chakra points within his body, but her eyes focused onto the orange flames that made up his eyes, glaring at her heatedly. The fire made the bird seem much, much larger, and her breathing picked up with each flap of his wings, knowing that she had to time herself perfectly. Then, when his eyes seemed to be the only thing she could see, she thrust her hand up, and released the chakra gathered there in a large arched stream.

Akeno screeched when the first streak of chakra hit him, entering his body and blocking the points that released the chakra producing most of the fire surrounding him. His wings flapped frantically, trying to change his path and remove himself from the girl, but another wave of chakra hit him, blocking more chakra within his system. His angle odd, and his fire dying down, he allowed the scroll within his beak to drop between his talons as he clawed at the air, before leaning his beak back to return the attack.

Hinata increased her speed, pushing more and more of her chakra into the bird, and feeling herself growing weak, since she had not completely perfected the flexibility the style demanded. So, she stopped her attack before she was able to block all of the bird's chakra points, and felt arms wrap around her shoulders when the wave of black fire swept over the place she had once occupied. Her eyes closed tiredly, but she looked up and smiled at her cousin as he watched the bird twist his head about and finally shoot into the sky to escape.

Sasuke landed beside them, watching the black bird in case it decided to return and seek revenge. However, the bird flew away, and he clenched the scroll in his hand tightly. The hand still hurt, but it seemed that the pain was strangely beginning to die now that the bird was gone—and with it, he popped open the seal holding the scroll shut.

"W-what does it s-say?" Hinata asked.

"Are you hurt, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked, ignoring her question.

"N-no," Hinata shook her head. "I'm j-just a b-bit ov-overwhelmed is all. I'll b-be fine in a m-moment."

"If you say so," Neji sighed, releasing her shoulders. She appeared to be fine, and he was glad, even if he was a bit shocked that she had managed to change their family's jutsu to suit her. He supposed that it was for the best, though, since Hinata needed something a little more in order to fall back on.

Sasuke unraveled the scroll completely, and read over the neatly printed words carefully. His eyes narrowed, before he said, "'Your mission is nearly complete. To find me, retrace the steps you've taken and remember to search the trees, for I may be closer than you think.'"

"S-so we c-came all this way j-just so we could g-go back?" Hinata asked, blinking in confusion. "I-I don't understand."

"It's a test," Neji scowled. "To make sure we do as she wants, since it is best to follow the orders of your sensei."

"T-then we s-should g-get going," Hinata said. She stood a bit hesitantly, but quickly regained her footing when she slipped lightly. Neji was standing at her side when they moved off, searching for scorch marks that would help them retrace the steps they had taken.

* * *

Kiba quickly pulled the strip of paper from beneath his feet, and watched as Naruto tried to grab ahold of the branch he was on in order to keep himself from being pulled upward. He did not know what it was, but their sensei had somehow created a void in his hand, one that was pulling everything into, the wind blowing wildly around them all of a sudden. He heard Akamaru's barking, but watched as the branch Naruto was attached to cracked and moved upward toward the hole in their sensei's hand. "Naruto!" he shouted.

The wind was incredibly loud, sweeping along his ears and blocking his hearing as he gripped the bark beneath him. His chakra was not helping and he assumed that it was the strong pull that stopped he from producing enough chakra at one time in order to stay on without grabbing the branch. He turned his head, pressing his right ear into the bark of the tree, and heard—as well as felt—the branch tilting upward, the wood cracking and tearing away from the rest of the tree. Panic was beginning to sink into his skin, his breath coming out quicker as he fought to come up with a solution to his problem, but he continued to come up a large blank.

TenTen pulled a scroll from her holster, and after striping the piece of paper from the tree she was positioned on—she almost wanted to roll her eyes when she remembered their sensei telling them they were placed  _randomly_ —she unraveled the scroll. The length shot forward the instant she flicked it, and she was surprised when it was caught in the wind flowing into the hole on Miroku's hand. In almost an instant it was pulled out of her grasp and sucked into the void that he had created. Feeling stupid, she pulled another scroll from her holster and jumped onto a branch parallel with her new sensei's.

The scroll unraveled and instantly almost countless amounts of weapons came into existence. TenTen reached out and grabbed the nearest one, a sickle, and flicked the weapon toward the jounin. It came dangerously close to hitting him, before he moved his hand away from Naruto and pointed it directly at her. The sickle was easily sucked into the endless void, and TenTen grabbed a weapon close to her in order to sink it into the bark of the tree she was positioned on. However, almost instantly the thin weapon began to slip from the spot she had positioned it, and she felt herself sliding toward the vortex.

Kiba cursed, watching as TenTen's other weapons were sucked into Miroku's jutsu. However, his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw his eyes twitch slightly, as blood filled his nose. One of the weapons seemed to have sliced into the rim of the void, before the foliage being consumed by the hole covered up the scent. He went to move, but stopped himself when he realized that the jounin would just reposition himself so that his attack was stopped.

 _Teamwork_.

That was what they needed, so Kiba quickly jumped to Naruto's side. "Naruto!" he growled.

Naruto lifted his head, and realized that the wind was no longer pulling at him. However, he had to pop his ears before he could hear what Kiba was saying, and listened as Kiba came up with a reasonably good plan. He nodded, saying, "Got it."

"Good, so I'll get the paper, you distract him," Kiba said, before moving toward the other strips of paper he had seen.

Naruto felt free without the wind pulling at him. He loosened his arm, and then glanced up at the pervert. He was grinning, his jutsu sucking TenTen closer and closer to him as she tried to stop herself from being pulled into his strange jutsu. However, Naruto scowled when he saw TenTen slip again, having to quickly stab the weapon she was holding into another area to stop herself from flying toward him. Thinking quickly, Naruto glanced over to where Kiba was now positioned, and then brought his hands up to do the hand seals. He knew it could do a lot of damage, but it would be worth it if he could distract him long enough for Kiba to get the rest of the strips of paper and stop this insanity.

Bringing his hands together, he summoned three clones to his side and motioned for two of them to begin his plan, while he and the other clone jumped up behind the pervert without his notice as he stared at the female on his squad. Then, after allowing his hands to move once more, he stuck his hand out, and watched as the other two shadow clones launched themselves from their position toward the pervert. He felt the chakra gathering, the wind swirling, and quickly launched himself forward with the clone behind him, ready to strike and hopefully defeat the Sunagakure who was supposed to be teaching them.

Miroku's grin faltered, his hand snapping up in order to pull in the identical Naruto's rushing at him with some type of swirling chakra in his hand. He watched as Kiba grabbed TenTen, pulling her away as well as plucking another strip of paper from the branch of a tree. He was ready to pull his hand together and make the hand seal to stop his technique when the Naruto's flying at him suddenly popped and ceased to exist. His eyes widened, his face turning when he heard Naruto's shout.

"Rasengan!" Naruto thrust his hand forward, the swirling ball in his hand extending and increasing in speed, almost as if it was  _waiting_  for the strike. He watched, his feet pushing him faster, as his new sensei suddenly put his hand over the hole in his other while using a strange one-handed seal, and the void disappeared within seconds. He was almost upon him when the Sunagakure shinobi grabbed the staff at his side when thrust it out, surprisingly catching him under the armpit.

Miroku bent his knees, hurling Naruto over his shoulders and into the trees beyond. His already widened eyes became a bit wider when they exploded, the attack in Naruto's hand slicing into them with ease and creating a swirl design—it was obvious that the spinning technique was powerful, and he was glad for his quick reflexes. Working with Kagome and Inuyasha had helped him learn to avoid anything that appeared to be a furious attack—they would simply never learn when to  _stop_.

TenTen, now back on her feet, readied herself for another attack when the jounin glanced up at the sky. She blinked in confusion, feeling it rise even higher since Naruto's attack slice through six trees, when he suddenly pulled a watch from his pocket. However, she gave a sigh of relief when he finally spoke, and slumped to her knees.

" _RASEN_ —" Naruto stopped in his tracks, almost falling backwards, but was instantly caught by the new clone he had created. His chakra faltered, the technique dying before it had even began.

"It appears that your time is up," Miroku smiled. It was  _odd_  to see such a smile on someone who had just tried to suck them into what appeared to be an endless void—and set up a trap made of foliage to drain them of chakra. It was even  _odder_  to see that smile on his face now, because he had instantly went from being their enemy—actually trying to  _kill_  them—to being their sensei once more. Serious to carefree showed how random their new sensei was going to be, and that smile was going to get on their nerves very quickly.

* * *

"How f-far did we travel?" Hinata stumbled a bit, knowing that her chakra was beginning to run low. However, she was determined to keep up with both her cousin and Uchiha Sasuke, and see the outcome of this mission before she tilted over from exhaustion. Her sensei appeared to be kind and generous, and would no doubt help her once she did, but she would show her that though she was not as strong as either male, she would try the best she could. And she would once again silently thank Naruto for giving her the courage to do so—especially if she ever saw pride in Kagome's eyes.

"Quite some ways," Neji muttered, his byakugan eyes scanning the area once more for signs of the way they had come. It was not hard to do so, for the bird's flames had scorched through many things, yet had never set the forest ablaze. It could obviously control fire very well, possibly vegetation as well, since he had seen the bird lick fire over the trees and then, with a flap of its wings, it had simply vanished. "It should not be long, though, before we reach the clearing that we started in, Hina—"

His senses had not flared at all, nor had he sensed any change in the area, or the chakra that should have become present. However, he saw, and turned to watch, as their female sensei materialized behind the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. "What the—" Sasuke began, but was not able to finish his sentence when he finally felt the area  _shift_ , genjutsu lifting from his dulled senses. At that moment he cursed the fiend who had dampened his sharingan abilities, since he should have been able to instantly see straight through it.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji turned on the spot, propelling himself to the position where Hinata stood. She was turning almost slowly toward the female behind her, and it was hard to tell exactly how fast Kagome moved as her hand struck out. However, it appeared Hinata had moved almost just as quickly, for clutched in her hand was a yellow stick, before she began to fall to the side. He halted on the branch below them, noticing that Kagome had turned her attention away from the fallen Hinata and was now staring down at him.

Chakra flared into the points of her hands, and she moved with surprising quickness, her hands moving through the seals she obviously needed. Neji barely heard her voice say the name of her technique before the sun was blocked from his view, and the flapping of wings filled his ears, signaling that the bird she had summoned had returned. "Wind Style: Heavenly Blades," was the only warning he received before she sliced her hands through the air, the chakra mixing with the air currents to create deadly blades. However, it became apparent that the word heavenly was added because of the yellow flare they received when her summon added fire to the mix.

His first instinct was to escape, but his second overpowered it as he spun on the spot, chakra forcing its way through the points of his body. His ultimate defense was created within seconds, and he was not worried about the attack harming him— _much_ , if at all.

Sasuke's eyes shifted, the hold he had had over his sharingan gone as he found himself staring her down. She had abandoned her fight with Neji, allowing the Hyuuga to spin until he stopped and turned his attention toward them. However, he did not want the Hyuuga to interfere in his battle, as much as he knew from working with Naruto that he should depend a little on his teammates' abilities. So, he watched as her eyes spun, silver flooding the surface, and then tiny blue ovals pierced through the ocean of silver in order to spin, creating the circle where her pupil should be.

Kagome turned her head only slightly when Neji jumped from his spot over to where Hinata lay. Then, she returned her attention to the Uchiha before her, knowing that he would be a hard cookie to crack, since it was obvious he wished to work without the clan that had rivaled his years ago. She had thought that the bright, and somewhat adorable, Naruto would be able to sink into his skin, making him at least  _think_  about teamwork, even when it was with someone he did not wish to work with. It appeared, though, that she had thought wrong— _but_  that did not mean that she could not try and beat some sense into his brain.

 _Well, at least Neji and Hinata are willing to work together_ , she sighed.

For a moment Sasuke thought he saw something else flicker, but in that instant her eyes seemed to fill his vision. The silver orbs were glaring at him, challenging him, and Uchiha Sasuke was not about to back down—especially to  _a_  kunoichi—no matter the ranking between them.

The two lunged at one another, weapons suddenly drawn, their kekkei genkai menacing. Akeno watched from his perch, allowing the Kazekage's hand to sweep over his feathers as they were concealed from the genin present. His summoner was not using her entire strength, simply pushing forward and falling back, keeping her jutsu on high, and using her kekkei genkai to its maximum. Akeno knew that her chakra was dropping quickly, and it would not be long before she was not able to go any longer. However, Akeno also knew that that would never stop a girl like Kagome, because once she set her mind to something, it happened.

Not to mention his friend was not stupid enough to overstep her bounds for such ridiculous reasons.

Sasuke was forced to tear his eyes from hers again, focusing on the kunai that she held expertly in her hand. He watched for any hints toward jutsu, his body ready to mimic her movements if need be, and waiting for anything that his eyes had seen before. The rings in her eyes drew him in again, though, and he growled lightly when he felt his cheeks heating up, as he wondered what she was thinking about. For as long as he had known her—which, truly was  _not_  very long, but enough time to tell what type of personality she had—she was all smiles, and her emotions were written deeply into her deep blue eyes, but now she was almost entirely the opposite. Her face was neutral, and each time she struck at him, he could tell that she had closed off the window to her soul, her eyes looking deadly, and on the verge of appearing emotionless.

She fell back again, her foot sliding underneath her on the moss of the tree. Her sandal dug in, the toe bending at an angle as she stopped herself from hitting the branch on her knees. Her eyes flicked toward the sky, taking notice of how low the sun was beginning to get, as she controlled her breathing from turning into pants. Her opponent did not appear any better, but Sasuke had not been using his chakra for so long, nor had he used so much in one sitting, though she knew very well that his sharingan was draining him more and more.

Sasuke moved forward, reaching for the sticks she had attached to her side. He swore that he saw something shift again, but his head began to hurt at that moment, and he reached out for the white piece attached neatly to her waist. However, his eyes widened when he had to move from her path, a blast of wind rushing through the trees and rustling the leaves as it went by. His focus had been so keen to the piece he wanted to get, remembering her warning, that he had not even noticed her hands move.

Making sure to correct his balance, Sasuke turned his head to see if the thirteen year old had thrown another jutsu his way. However, his new sensei was simply standing there, as if she was waiting for him to make the next move. And not wanting to disappoint, or appear weak, Sasuke moved from his new position, feeling his chakra drop a bit when his clone sprang into existence.

Her hands moved, and on instinct his feet came to a halt. His clone dropped to the level of branches below them, but his sharingan was focused on the movement of her hands, watching carefully. Things seemed to slow down, allowing him to see the seals that she was using and calculate the final ones. At the moment he realized what jutsu she was about to use, and that his hands were copying her movements, he quickened his speed.

The final two seals waiting to be completed, shock overcame Sasuke's focus, halting his movements. His red eyes widened as his sensei's body was engulfed in flames, and turned to dust before him. The fire swirled into the shape of a dragon, the flaming mouth opening in order to swallow him as well. Knowing that he had no chance of escaping, he raised his arms to protect his face, before the heat surrounded him. Surprisingly, the heat was not as hot as he had anticipated, and it was not what caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise.

No, it was the breath suddenly on his neck that made him tense.

"You were very clever to release that clone, since it managed to stun me long enough to steal your piece from me, however, you were foolish to forget the details I gave Naruto on my kekkei genkai." Her mouth pressed against the shell of his ear, and Sasuke forced down the urge to shudder. Then, she leaned forward, her hand gripping his shoulder to turn him slightly, thus giving him a good view of her swirling eyes. "My ketatamashiigan is much like your sharingan, and allows me to anticipate your movements. That is the reason you were not able to copy my jutsu, because I  _saw_  what you were planning, and I placed a clone before myself. You were so focused on copying my dragon that you never even realized that you were copying a clone that was designed to follow my movements at a much slower pace."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, cursing himself as he stared into her silver eyes. Then, he grunted when her hand struck a certain point on his neck, making his vision spin. Before everything went black, he managed to glare at her slightly, and heard the pop that signaled his clone had gone extinct. However, those things did not seem so important as he lost consciousness, wondering why Kagome affected him so badly that he had made such a stupid mistake.

Kagome turned instantly, dropping Sasuke's slumped body as Neji flew by her. She glanced down, and narrowed her eyes slightly when she realized the final stick she had attached to her waistband had fallen toward the ground with the brush of Neji's fingers. The Hyuuga was clever, even more so than she had imagined, to have attacked her when she was about to treat Sasuke's burns. Her hindered focus had been the perfect target for him, and the Hyuuga had managed to easily take the final stick she had had.

Turning her eyes, she watched as sand gathered around Sasuke's body before he hit the ground far below. Her near emotionless face lightened up, her eyes returning to normal with a single blink, before a smile stretched out onto her features. She silently thanked her Kazekage, before turning on her heel to retrieve the stick that Sasuke's clone had dropped. She would return it to his hand, and then awaken Sasuke and Hinata in order to tell them who had succeeded in seeing the truth, and who had been too blind to see it.

* * *

"Well," Miroku said, "it appears that you managed to retrieve ten out of thirteen strips. Since you weren't able to get all of them within the hour, you'll have to live with the punishment that I give you."

"BUT," Naruto interrupted, "hentai-sensei, we got  _most_  of them! Shouldn't that count for something?"

TenTen congratulated him on his efforts silently, but knew from the gleam in her sensei's eye that they were not going to get what they wanted—of course, she could be wrong, but that gleam was  _scary_. However, she had to admit that for their first mission together, they had done pretty good.

"Yeah!" Kiba and Akamaru agreed.

"Though," Miroku coughed lightly, "you did surprisingly well with each other, you still did not meet the requirements given to you. So, you will receive a punishment. But, because you did so well, I'm merely going to make you… get here an hour earlier than normal in order to practice your teamwork."

"W-WHAT?" Naruto's mouth fell open. "Do you know how early that is? Is the sun even up that soon?"

"Yes, the sun is bright and cheery that early, Naruto," Miroku chuckled. It was obvious that the genin did not wish to get up that early. "And, if you're late, I might have to punish you a bit more. So, I suggest that you arrive on time, or even before it if you can."

Kiba and Akamaru sighed in acceptance. There was no point in arguing with the one that would basically run their lives for the next two weeks.

TenTen frowned, wondering if she'd have to be twenty minutes before everyone else like before.

Naruto allowed his head to drop in defeat.

"Look at the bright side," Miroku lifted his finger in encouragement, "my punishment is not nearly as harsh as Inuyasha's or Kagome-sama's would be."

* * *

"I told you we shouldn't have stopped," Temari muttered.

"Well, I was hungry, and Gaara can protect himself," Kankurou replied. "Besides, I don't see what you're so worried about, Kagome's with him. It's not like they're suddenly going to be attacked and have to fight for their lives. And, even if they  _did_ ," he said before Temari could butt in, "Kagome's perfectly capable of defending both of them. Not to mention that those Konohagakure genin are with them, so stop worrying all ready."

"That's not the point," Temari hissed. "We are supposed to be watching him while Kagome can't, not possibly damaging her training time because Gaara's there."

"How's he going to do that?" Kankurou asked.

"Isn't it  _obvious_?" Temari huffed. "Gaara  _likes_  Kagome."

"So?" Kankurou snorted. "I figured that out a long time ago. It was  _extremely_  obvious from the way he continued to stare at her when she told him that she would do anything for him. Hell, did you see that look in his eye? It was like he wanted to pounce on her, lock her up, and never let anyone else see her again."

"You're not getting the point, Kankurou," Temari continued. "The Konohagakure genin seemed quite interested in Kagome as well. What if one of them decides to try something on her while they're training? If Gaara's there, it'll be a bloodbath!"

"Like that's going to happ—Huh?" Kankurou turned his head when he realized they had arrived in the training ground Kagome had said she would be using. His lips twitched, before he began to laugh hysterically, leaning over in order to grab his ribs. "Holy crap, that's brilliant!" he laughed.

Temari could not help the twitching of her lips as she stared at the scene before her. Gaara was standing close to Kagome, which was not unusual, but the sight they were staring at was quite humorous. Hinata was scuffling her feet about before them, a light blush on her cheeks as Kagome congratulated her on something. Behind her, though, was Sasuke and Neji in two curious positions—Sasuke was hanging from a tree by a rope wrapped around his left foot, and Neji had been buried beneath a pile of sand that reached his neck.

"I was actually quite surprised that you saw through my genjutsu, Hinata," Kagome smiled. "My kekkei genkai does a very good job at hiding them, which is the reason Sasuke could not see through it, but I'm happy that  _someone_  managed to do as I asked them."

Sasuke twisted lightly in his position, his arms crossed over his chest. Blood was rushing to his head, and he hoped that his new sensei released him before he became dizzy, but that was not what angered him at the moment. "I could have sworn," he growled.

"Shut up, Uchiha," Neji muttered. "Your annoying voice is  _not_  going to help us out of this."


	5. Mission One, Part II

Ino tensed, turning on the spot, positive that she had seen something move out of the corner of her eye. Afterward, she sighed softly when she realized that it had only been a cat streaking across the entrance of an alley. However, it only took a moment before she realized that the cat had been white, and the thing she saw move had been black. It gave her enough time to brace herself as another cat stepped out of the shadows, seeming to melt away from them, its glittering black fur seeming to shine with starlight.

The feline was larger than most, its glittering black fur rippling with starlight as it took a single step away from the shadows of the alley. Its deep silver eyes were haunting, staring deeply into hers, as it allowed itself another step forward. However, the cat then stopped, its perked up ears beginning to settle down against its head as its eyes narrowed thoughtfully at her. It was hard to tell, but Ino thought that it was beginning to scent the air, its dark nose hidden within the black fur that surrounded it.

Ino was determined, wanting to show that she was not fooled by this strange creature, as she slipped her hand down to touch her concealed kunai. This morning had left her on edge, wondering at her Sunagakure sensei's strange words the day before. She had stated that they would know where they were going to meet when she did, and all morning she had been waiting for that signal, only for this strange cat to show itself. No, she was not going to be fooled, because there was no way this was a coincidence, and she was not sure what her new sensei wanted of her.

The large cat took another step forward, its ears perking up once more as it scented the air. Ino braced herself completely, her hand wrapping around her weapon, wondering if this was some type of summon, or if her sensei had abilities similar to Shikamaru. Then again, she also knew, as her grip tightened around the kunai, that this could be some sick prank being pulled on her—or another enemy shinobi attack. The feline seemed docile and friendly, but that could change in a moment, as it flew through the air to rip out her throat.

The fur along its shoulder rippled, the starlight affect increasing as it continued forward without hesitation. For a moment it seemed like the cat was glowing, but it became apparent a moment later, as it stepped forward again, that it was a trick of the sunlight off its back. The feline came to a stop only a few feet from Ino's position, settling itself down onto its hunches as it looked up at her with its haunting, silver eyes. Its long tail swished at its feet, lightly moving the dirt underneath it, as it waited.

Ino forced herself to stay alert, tensing her muscles as she watched the feline. Something in its eyes told her that it meant her no harm, but Ino was not about to make a mistake like that. No, because doing something stupid like that would mean that she was not meant, or worthy, of trying for Uchiha Sasuke's heart. She was  _not_  about to give that up to her rival, Sakura. So, instead she bit out, "What do you want?"

The feline tipped its head to one side, its ears moving to the side with the sound of a cart being rolled along one of the neighboring streets. Ino suddenly felt stupid for having asked the cat such a question, since it was obvious that it was  _not_  going to answer her. It was a cat! She should not have expected for it to be anything more, even if it appear to be odd among the strays that she often saw roaming for food.

" _Me…me_."

Ino nearly jumped, her eyes snapping back down to the feline as it began to rub against her legs. However, she stared at the animal as it did so, a purr beginning to rise into the air as it arched its back against her skin, trying to receive more contact. She could have sworn for a moment she heard words, not a 'meow' coming from the cat. But, when the feline did not make an attempt to meow or possibly  _speak_  again, she reached down in order to begin scratching its neck. Her thoughts of the animal being dangerous disappeared as it gave itself over to her touch, merely enjoying the attention.

Beginning to run her fingers down the feline's back, she listened to it purr as it pushed up into her hand. A smile formed onto her lips, enjoying the attention the strange creature was giving her as she gave it hers. Her hands retreated back to its head once they traveled down the tail, smoothing down the perked ears, over the shoulders, and then retracing her pervious path down its back. She shook her head a bit as its purring increased, asking, "Is this what you wanted? A little attention from someone?"

The feline suddenly paused in its purring, its ears standing on end as it turned its eyes to stare up at her. Its tail began to swish back and forth again, almost as if the cat was angered with something. Then, strangely, as the silver eyes caught Ino's blue ones, it turned its head from side to side. The action was so sudden that the hands caressing its fur stopped all together, shooting back as if burned.

"Did you just shake your head 'no'?" Ino questioned.

This time she received an up and down motion.

Ino straightened, her eyes wide as she stared at the cat. Her thoughts of it being dangerous swam back into her mind, as she took a step backwards. Her eyes narrowed then, the question burning on her tongue spitting out as if poisoned. "What is it you want?" she asked.

" _Me… me…_ " the feline began, then paused for a moment. " _Me… co… me… co… me…_ "

Ino stiffened, having not expected a reply.

" _Come_ ," the cat finally forced out. " _Come_."

"Come?" Ino asked. She was given a nod. "Come where?"

" _Come_ ," the feline stated again. Then, with a flick of its tail, it turned in order to begin trekking down the road. Only once it had traveled a good twenty feet did it turn its silver eyes to the frozen figure once more, " _Come_."

Ino remained frozen for only a moment, wondering if she should truly follow this creature. However, as it turned to begin walking once more, she decided that she would take the risk of it being sent by an enemy shinobi. She was a kunoichi, she was not afraid to fight, nor was she afraid of a challenge of another shinobi. She would show them the strength that Konohagakure held, not turn away in fear. As she took a step forward to begin following the feline, though, she felt a bit of hope form in her chest, as she wished this creature truly belonged to her new sensei.

* * *

"AHHH!"

Inuyasha winched, bringing a hand up to hold onto his ear as the girl in his grasp screamed her head off. "Damn it, wench, shut up!" he commanded, his mind instantly clicking to when his female teammate had done the same thing a few times. However, he knew the differences between them, since his  _teammate_  had done it on purpose, and this girl was just scared shitless apparently.

Sakura's scream halted midway, her green eyes opening to see her new sensei staring down at her—well, glaring down at her. She gulped, unsettled by his strange golden stare, as his hand finally fell away from her arm. She mumbled a quick apology, since she had not meant to scream—she was a kunoichi, after all!—but he had fallen from the sky and grabbed her roughly. The action had been unexpected; since she had expected him to come up to her on the street, not jump from a nearby building to snatch her from the ground.

"Sakura, it is truly amazing how youthful you can be at this time of morning!" a voice shouted. "But it is not unexpected from someone of your beauty and skill!"

Sakura stiffened, her head turning to find Lee beaming happily at her. Her lips twitched, as she shifted her attention to her other squad member. Shikamaru was staring at her with a bored expression, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck as he turned his dark gaze to the sky above. Apparently, Inuyasha had come to collect them, as he had stated he would do, and she was the last one to be retrieved—and to make a fool of herself in front of her new teammates. She shifted her eyes again, and yes, her sensei  _was_  still glaring at her.

Inuyasha reached up to rub his ear, pressing his fingers against the shell and making gentle circles. His narrowed eyes did not leave the one who had caused the damage, though, as he growled. "God, you're fuckin' loud," he muttered darkly. "You and that stupid Higurashi could win a freakin' contest if they ever decided to have one. Always yellin' peoples ears off. Who the hell do you two think you are, fuckin' angels that have fallen from fuckin' heaven?"

Lee's eyes suddenly burned with fire, his face twisting into a displeased expression. His hand fisted, as he began to defend both women from the words of his sensei. "Cursing at, or about a woman is un-youthful!" he started, but he was silenced when the fourteen year old twisted his head around to glare at him. That look shut him up, but he seethed on the inside, wondering how his new sensei could say such things about two beautiful, and youthful women. However, this was not Gai-sensei, and he knew that Gai-sensei would want him to make a good impression on the Sunagakure shinobi—which meant listening to his commands, silent or otherwise.

"This is so bothersome," Shikamaru muttered softly. His hands slipped into his pockets, wondering how long he would have to deal with this for the day, since they were sure to have some type of test issued against them. It would be the best way for the Suna-nin to figure out their strengths and weaknesses, and the shinobi who was supposed to teach his squad looked like the fighting type. Yes, the day was beginning to slip downhill already, because that meant work on his part depending on how strong a jounin the shinobi was.

Inuyasha scowled, his eyes scanning over the miserable group that he had been given. Truly, he had no idea how he was going to whip these kids into shape, since one of them was lazy, one looked ready to kick his ass, and the other looked ready to die of embarrassment. His scowl became deeper at the thought, since he had wanted the Hyuuga and Uchiha Prodigies on his squad.  _Damn it, Kagome ends up with everything good_ , he huffed.

"Ah, sensei," Sakura asked quietly.

Whipping his head around, Inuyasha stared into the girl's bright green eyes. She stiffened at the look on his face, and he nearly smirked at the slight hesitation forming in her eyes. After a moment, though, he growled, "Well, spit it out already!"

"Um," Sakura gulped, "I was wondering where we're going to be doing."

"You're going to follow me, that's what yer going to do," Inuyasha commanded. "And if you don't keep up, I'm goin' to make your life a miserable piece of hell day in and day out. Do you got that?"

Sakura nodded, and watched as her new sensei spun on his heel to speed away. She soon went to follow after Lee and Shikamaru sped off after him, wishing for a moment that he had been more like Naruto. At least then she would not have tensed up suddenly, showing fear—which he obviously saw and  _enjoyed_ , the jerk—even when she knew that shinobi were not supposed to hint toward emotions. They were supposed to be silent, emotionless, never giving away anything that could give their opponent an edge. But, at that thought, she had to remind herself that this was not a new opponent, but a boy barely older than herself that was supposed to be teaching her for two weeks.

And she also supposed that her first impression could have been worse. The perfect example being when Naruto had placed that eraser above the classroom door before they met Kakashi-sensei, thus leading up to Kakashi-sensei telling them he hated them within the first few seconds. Though, as a jounin, he should have been able to tell that it was a trap and stepped out of the way before the eraser hit him on the head.

* * *

"Have a seat," he ordered. A smirk rose onto his lips the moment they did so, though the lazy one did so with a sigh slowly. Really, even if the girl had a set of vocals that could easily kill his eardrum, and the other boy insisted on wearing that disgusting green that was nearly killing his eyes, he could get used to this. A squad ready to do as he commanded—anything he commanded—instead of stupid teammates that constantly challenged the fact that he was the strongest, therefore he should lead them when their sensei was nowhere to be seen.

However, though he was beginning to see why Chinatsu-sensei had decided to teach, even though she was clearly not right in the head, he figured there were some down sides. One being that his ears were still ringing. Another being that his eyes were beginning to hurt each time he glanced at that strange kid wearing spandex. Or that annoying sigh that he heard once again, even through the ringing, coming from the boy who had lain back on the grass to gaze up at the sky. They were reasons that he could not see why anyone would want to teach for a career, when they could be hacking away at an enemy on almost any mission.

"Alright, I'm here to teach you something," Inuyasha stated. "I'm not here to be your friend. I'm not here to listen to your annoying whining about how you don't like something about me. And I'm  _not_  here in order for you to get two weeks off doing nothin'. But, I was told that I need to tell you somethin' about myself, no matter how much I told that dang Hokage of yours that you don't need to know anything to learn. So, listen up, and don't expect me to repeat myself, got it?"

Sakura nodded, her eyes flickering over to Lee when she noticed him leaning forward. A small twitch appeared on her brow, since he looked ready to take notes about whatever Inuyasha-sensei said. Maybe, she hoped, Lee would find something else to become crazy over while they were a squad together. Sure, putting that off on her sensei was not something she  _should_ do, but something she  _would_  do if she were given the chance.

Inuyasha frowned a bit, his arms crossing over his chest. "I'm from Suna, where I have been a shinobi for a long time, and was given the position of jounin. I've got a womanizer for a father, a docile mother, and an ANBU half-brother that's got a ten-foot pole up his ass. I like my rank because I get more dangerous missions, which means that I normally get to fight against someone that's actually worth fighting against. And no matter what anyone tells you, I'm the strongest of my genin squad!"

Shikamaru flicked his eyes over toward the Sunagakure shinobi, his mind translating the words that left his mouth. He liked violence, that was a given. He did not get along with his brother, was beginning to get annoyed with his father's constant womanizing, and though he loved his mother, he hated the fact that she was not as strong as the rest of his family. But, the thing that stood out against the rest was that the shinobi thought more of himself than he should, since those who were the best usually did not flaunt it as much.

He sighed, since it was just his luck that he would end up with a sensei that wanted nothing more than to beat them into the ground. That meant that he would have to defend himself, which also meant that he would have to put some effort into doing so. Sure, the shinobi before him did not seem like the type to think before he attacked, but he had to be very strong to have become a jounin at such a young age. The thoughts caused him to sigh again, wondering just  _how_  much effort he would have to put into it, since he knew nothing of the shinobi's style or strongest element.

Though, he  _did_  know that he had a strong wind jutsu that could only be countered with other strong winds. And man, did he hate having to try and do wind style techniques.

"You got that?" Inuyasha practically growled. Then, he shook his head, turning himself toward the trees. He continued after a moment, "Well, even if you didn't, I'm not saying it again. A shinobi shouldn't have to have something stated twice."

"I understand, Inuyasha-sensei!" Lee spoke up with enthusiasm. "So, I will try my best to show you that I, too, am a strong shinobi!"

Inuyasha's eye twitched again as the boy brought his hands up into a thumbs-up position. "Right," Inuyasha drawled out. "You're Rock Lee, aren't you?"

"Yes, Inuyasha-sensei," Lee nodded.

"Kankurou told me that you're a taijutsu specialist," Inuyasha snorted. "He  _also_  told me that the Kazekage beat you up pretty bad before he was given his new position. How in the hell are you even walking around?"

Sakura smiled, "Tsunade-sama is an excellent healer, Inuyasha-sensei. She patched Lee up without much trouble soon after she arrived in the village."

Lee nodded, turning to smile at his crush.

Inuyasha twisted his scowl into a small frown. "I've heard that your Hokage is pretty good when it comes to healing, but I didn't think she'd be able to heal someone who's been mutilated by Kazekage-sama's sand. She must be strong," his eyes gleamed. "However, you must be pretty strong yourself, kid, for having survived afterward long enough for her to arrive."

"To show others that I can be strong is my dream," Lee's eyes twinkled. "I would never allow such minor wounds to stop me from continuing my training and proving thus."

Sakura huffed, "Those weren't minor wounds, Lee!"

Lee's smile brightened, "Of course they were, Sakura! But I am happy that you were worried for my health!"

Inuyasha growled, "Whatever. I just wanted to point out that you better use everything you've got, because you first mission isn't going to be an easy one. And I'm going to give you one hell of a time completing it."

"Mission?" Sakura asked. God, she hoped that it was not anything like Kakashi-sensei's task. She did not think she could withstand another genjutsu that made her believe her beloved Sasuke was dead. Kakashi-sensei had just been cruel when he used that against her.

"That's right," Inuyasha smirked cruelly. "So, I suggest you get off yer lazy asses' and come up with a plan, because I plan on keeping you runnin' until sundown." His hand slid down to the hilt of his sword, and he pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath, allowing the gleaming blade to shine in the sunlight. Almost instantly his chakra began to extend down the weapon, essentially making it apart of his body. Then, with a deep chuckle, he stalked forward, intent on showing these Konohagakure shinobi a thing or two about fighting.

Shikamaru sighed, wishing that for once he could have been  _wrong_.

* * *

Ino paused in step, watching the cat as it bound forward. Streaks of black were left in its wake, increasing in size with each passing moment. However, she was more interested in the shadowed figure standing close to one of the buildings—for a moment, she almost thought it  _might_  have been someone of the Nara family. Then, as the figure turned, showing their face at last, two more cats came racing into the area. A sigh left her lips with the realization that the person standing before her was indeed her new sensei, before her attention turned to the huffing Chouji, and silent Shino, as they arrived.

" _Co… meow_ ," the cats cried as one. The instant the sound rose into the air, they turned to blurs, racing toward one another. As they crashed together, a glimmer of silver light twinkled into and out of existence. Smoke filled the air, but as it cleared, a dark figure rose up from the ground.

Ino allowed her eyes to widen, "A clone?"

Sango chuckled, "That's right. I created this jutsu—the ability to condense a clone into three separate beings of a different species. They are not able to do much of anything when it comes to fighting, but they are excellent at tracking, relaying messages, and escaping detection when there are enemy shinobi about. Especially when you have one stubborn squad member that likes shooting off in search of a fight, and another that chases after them to try and stop the chaos, leaving you with the boring part of the mission."

The clone reached up to adjust the weapon strapped to its back, before disappearing in a small poof. It appeared to the distance observer that it had simply run out of chakra, but to the newly formed squad four, it was clear that their sensei had dismissed the copy of herself.

"Cool," Chouji muttered, popping open another bag of chips. He reached inside not a moment later, pulling out a few to stuff into his mouth. "'rat kind of 'hing must come in handy on really 'mportant missions, huh?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Can't you talk when your mouth isn't full, Chouji?"

"Well, I could," he said between bites. "But I don't want to, Ino."

Sango shook her head, listening as the blonde female muttered about how disgusting he always was. Allowing her eyes to sweep over them, she sighed, "I guess we should get down to business. My name is Sango, and your Hokage has instructed me to tell you a little about myself, considering the circumstances. As you know, I am from Suna, which means that I should be more prone to using wind style jutsu. However, over the years I have found myself more drawn to fire style jutsu, though my friends would probably tell you that I am more of a weapon expert."

Noticing that she had their attention, she pulled a bit at the strap of her Hiraikotsu. "I do not think that telling you my likes or dislikes is all that important, and since we're only going to be together for a short amount of time, I also do not think you need to be aware of my ambitions. However, I will tell you that I do not tolerate disrespect, and I will not be the type of sensei that will allow you to sit around and figure everything out through sheer dumb luck. I will push you, whether you like it or not, which is the exact reason that I will be putting you through a mission I have designed this morning," she finished.

"Don't you think it's a little too early to be putting us through a mission, Sango-sensei?" Ino asked. "I might be stuck with Chouji again, but we've never worked with Shino. Wouldn't it be more reasonable if we given at least a few hours to try and work together?"

"In a way," Sango nodded. "However, this mission is meant to push you, to force you to work together, even if you have never been asked to do so before. In higher level missions, you will often times be placed onto a squad where you do not know any of the people surrounding you, and you have a few scarce minutes to figure out the strengths you have together. You are often times thrown into danger, and though you learn that you will not always be the winner, you will have to learn to work together on short notice. After all, a real mission is  _never_  practice, and many times you get one chance to do it right, or  _die_."

That single word got their full attention, as they gazed at the fourteen-year-old standing before them. Her lips had drawn into a grim line, her eyes shining with a seriousness that left them each nervous in their own way. However, even with that feeling coursing through their body, they watched as she pulled the heavy boomerang from her back and forced one end into the ground, allowing it to stand upright. After she had discarded the weapon, she brought her hand to her mouth, bit into her thumb until she drew blood, and extended her arm toward the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

* * *

Inuyasha spun on the spot, his feet sliding over the ground as he arched Tetsusaiga toward the sky. Chakra coursed down the blade from his fingertips, slicing through the air currents as he shouted, "Wind Scar!"

Sakura tensed on the spot, seeing the streaks of light heading straight for them. Her fisted hands turned white, and she felt the color drain from her face. A tiny voice shouted in the back of her head to get moving, that the Suna-nin would kill her if she did not defend herself. However, as the ripping winds drew closer, the height increasing with each passing second, she felt her heart stop.

"Sakura!"

Hands grabbed at her arms, pulling her away from the blinding light as it drew near. Sakura barely had time to register that someone had rescued her from death, because her heart finally began to pound away. Adrenaline pumped into her system at a rapid pace, as the voice in her head began to shout about how stupid— _utterly_  stupid!—she was. Her head was pressed against a flat chest, held there by a single hand, but she continued to think about how right that voice had been at that moment.

Dang it, she had become Tsunade's pupil! She was  _not_  supposed to freeze up like she used to! And  _especially not_  when it was during a life and death situation, since it would most likely lead to her death! Where had her nerve gone? Had it decided to suddenly flutter out the window to fly with the butterflies, instead of staying at home where it was needed? Such pretty butterflies they must be, too, for her nerve to decide at such a time to pack up and leave.

Her eyebrow twitched, for surely her current thoughts meant that she was experiencing some type of breakdown. Most likely one of the mind. True, she did not think that insanity would come onto her this early in life, but it was always a possibility. Especially when she had had to spend so much time around Naruto—who constantly fought with Sasuke—and then froze up like in the chuunin exams after she had promised herself never to do so again. Yes, insanity seemed like the most likely illness that she could possess.

"Sakura, are you hurt?"

Sakura blinked, looking up into the face of Lee. His worried expression caused her heart to twitch a bit, but she quickly stomped down the feeling. Lee was odd, and Sasuke would be her one and only as soon as he realized how much he loved her. She did not need to get emotional because Lee had given her a worried, oh so caring look. "I—I'm fine, Lee," she gulped.

Lee sighed in relief, "I'm so happy you're alright, Sakura. I almost thought for a moment I would not be able to reach you when Inuyasha-sensei attacked. I promise you that because I was  _almost_  not quick enough to save you, I will run a hundred—no, two hundred laps around Konoha once this mission is over! I will not fail in protecting you, I promise!"

"Lee, you don't have to do that," Sakura frowned at him. "I'm not hurt. You did save me. There's no reason to beat yourself up when you've done nothing wrong."

"Thank you, Sakura!" Lee smiled excitedly. "But, I simply cannot take your humble offering. Inuyasha-sensei will prove to be an awesome opponent, but I cannot stand the thought of you becoming injured during times like these. So, I will do everything in my power to become stronger. I promise you that I will not allow you to get in the crossfire, even if I must take a blow myself."

"Lee…"

"This is going to be so bothersome," Shikamaru drew their attention.

"Shikamaru?" Sakura blinked. She had not even realized that he had been standing there. She guessed that it could be because of her lapse in sanity, or the fact that her heart was still going a thousand miles a minutes. Now that she thought about it, she could feel the chakra signals around her with more ease, a sharpness that only came upon her when there was trouble brewing. So, she stated quietly, "I don't think we should stay here much longer."

Shikamaru glanced at her. He did not feel anything yet. True, it was best not to stay in one place for too long when there was someone crazed and out for his opponent's death, but they had barely wasted a full five minutes in their current spot. He doubted that there was any reason for them to pack up and move just yet—perhaps in five more minutes, though. It would be for the best, especially when he had not been able to calculate the range his new sensei's wind jutsu could travel in while running.

"No," Sakura said when Lee tried to reassure her. "I really don't think we should stay here much longer. We could be in serious danger, whether we know it or no—"

The sound of whipping wind drew their attention toward the darkness of the forest around them. It was very similar to a faint scrapping of metal in the still night, as they gazed into the trees. Not a moment later, however, white began to overtake the darkness hiding them away from the rest of the world. It ripped through the blackness much like the attack riding upon its wings was ripping through the trees within its way. As soon as it registered that the sound was familiar, the increasing light had come for them once before, they were given scarce moments to get out of the jutsu's way.

Shikamaru raced by first, but as soon as he did, Lee grabbed ahold of Sakura's arms to lift her from her position. The taijutsu master wasted no time in flipping her up bridal style, before rushing in the direction his other teammate had gone. Lee knew that Shikamaru was very smart, to the point of genius like Neji, and he would be able to come up with a plan the way his former teammate always did. Until then, though, he would protect Sakura.

"Lee!" Sakura screamed. "This isn't necessary!"

* * *

Shino narrowed his eyes behind his glasses at the small twin-tailed cat now held by his new instructor. He had nothing to fear from a tiny kitten, but something in his bones told him that that cat was not as it seemed. In fact, from the glance it had given him, it was almost as if it knew more about him than he did about it. And, not only that, but he could feel the anticipation of the insects housed inside his body. His body became tense, because it was not often that they managed to draw forth emotions such as anxiousness.

Ino could not help but sequel, "Oh, how cute!"

Shino shifted his stance, watching as his sensei stroked the feline's fur. She was smiling, nodding at Ino's words, but there was something about the way her shoulders moved. As if she was trying to contain her laughter, though he could not possibly think of a single thing she could be laughing about.

"Her name is Kirara," Sango smiled. "Her summoning pact has been handed down through my family since my ancestor, Midoriko, befriended her. She is loyal and true, and absolutely adorable!"

Chouji shook his head, stating plainly, "Women."

Shino agreed with him. He would never admit it, but originally he had merely nodded and wondered about what in the world Hinata was talking about most of the time. When it had come to more serious matters, he understood, but whenever she spoke of girl things he had been lost. He supposed that he could silently thank Kiba for having noticed, though at the time he had not appreciated his help. In fact, he had almost wished he had not been his teammate at the time—at least then his bugs could have had a nice treat.

Shame he appreciated Kiba's help nowadays.

Sango shook her head, her face returning to a serious look. "However, Kirara is here for a very important part of my mission for you. I took this idea from Kagome when she told me about her sensei's test for her team years ago. It will require you retrieving from Kirara a scroll and only with this scroll will you be allowed to pass the barrier I have set up in a clearing to the west of here. I will be waiting within for you to come and try to take from me one of these ribbons." She tapped one of the long pieces of cloth hanging from her waist, but secured well enough that even during combat they would not manage to fall. "But be warned, Kirara and I have a few tricks up our sleeve that might surprise you."

He cast his eyes over the twin-tailed feline, noticing that already tied around her neck was a decorative cloth. However, at the back it was rolled over upon itself, as if holding something. Shino was willing to bet that their sensei had already thought ahead of time and rolled the scroll they were supposed to retrieve into that cloth. The scroll must be quite small, considering that the feline was a bit smaller in structure than Akamaru.

Sango knelt down, placing the cat in her arms onto the ground gently. She stroked the fur on her head a few times, smoothing over the diamond shape on her forehead. A small smile appeared on her lips when her loyalist companion opened her red orbs, and through her purring gave a small mew of acceptance. Giving the feline a final few pats to the head, she said, "Thank you, Kirara."

"Sensei?" Ino asked.

The Suna-nin rose to her feet, stepped back from the cat she had placed onto the ground, and turned toward them. As her hand slipped into the strap of her giant weapon, she said, "Kirara will move once you are allowed to begin. I don't expect you to manage to subdue her long enough to get the scroll within a small amount of time, but it is a precaution on my part. After all, if you have managed to get the scroll and come after me, you would be stupid not to attack me for your ribbon even as I was running." She hefted the boomerang from the ground, and lifted her eyes to give them a piercing look. In a flash, she was gone.

He glanced down at the tiny feline at their feet, waiting for this movement that she was supposed to do when they were allowed to begin. He tensed, already feeling a few of his bugs seeping from his flesh and moving to where the feline sat. A few climbed onto her fur, acting as trackers for when she disappeared, while others began to feed on her chakra. The cat did not seem to mind their movement, but did move a bit to scratch behind her ear. Shino found it strange, for surely the cat could realize that her chakra was being depleted bit by bit already, yet had not moved to dispatch even one of the insects now resting in her fur.

The feline mewed suddenly, causing Ino to jump slightly. Chouji laughed at her, saying, "Geeze, Ino, there's no reason to become so tense. It's only a c-c—whoa!" He stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth in excitement when the feline suddenly burst into flames. They rose to the size of a good-sized horse, before finally they were extinguished with a good shake of the feline's fur. His eyes became wide when he noticed the rapid change the feline had gone through, since it had become the size of a small couch at least. A shiver raced down his spine, though, when the beast opened its mouth and let out a mighty roar, showing off the gleaming fangs that extended past its jaw.

Shino did not even need to call upon his bugs to know that the fire had destroyed them. So, he instantly allowed more to exit his body and travel toward the large feline. The cat saw them coming, though, and he was forced to merely tell them to follow her instead of track her when she moved into the forest. Hopefully she did not move forever and a few managed to relay the position she took to him before they were destroyed. However, he knew that his tension had been justified, since it became apparent as the feline moved that she was a fire and wind style creature.

She tensed up from the fire, watching as the cat streaked away from them. Kirara appeared to be riding on the wind, fire blossoming around her legs as she raced deep into the forest. Without really thinking, Ino shouted, "What are we waiting for? After her!"

Shino reached forward, grabbing his new female teammate, "No, not yet."

Ino turned to stare into his glasses, huffing, "What do you mean not yet?"

"It would make more sense to come up with a reasonable strategy before we go charging into action," Shino replied.

Blinking, Ino silently agreed with him. However, she shrugged the Aburame's hand from her arm, since she had always found the clan slightly intimidating. Especially when she thought about how many bugs were underneath his skin, feeding off his chakra in exchange for their services. "Right," she nodded, "that would make more sense."

Chouji huffed, "You should have known that from being around Shikamaru so much, Ino."

Ino turned to him, exploding, "SHUT  _UP_ , Chouji!"

Chouji began to munch on another chip. "Vell, 'ts truu."

* * *

Sakura twirled the kunai on her fingers, watching the scene before her for any sudden movements. Shikamaru's plan had taken a lot more time than she had thought it would, but she had finally set up her final trap and made sure to spread her scent through most of the foliage surrounding the around. She had watched him explain to Lee his purpose in their plan, distraction, before going to find a position where he could hide after he raced around the clearing, rubbing his scent against trees and bushes.

Apparently he had realized how well Inuyasha's kekkei genkai made his nose.

Sakura was almost surprised with how smart Shikamaru was considering his laziness. Sasuke was a prodigy, a genius in his own right, but she had to admit that though Sasuke could overpower Shikamaru in strength, Shikamaru would probably overpower him using his head. Then again, she knew that they probably would never fight each other, and if they did, Shikamaru would know his limit and grow bored enough that he quit. He had done the same thing during the chuunin exams fighting Temari, since he knew how long he could hold out and quit before Temari was able to escape him and retaliate. He truly was a genius, because even though a shinobi did not quit until a mission was complete or impossible to complete, he knew how to back out when he needed to, instead of getting himself killed or extremely injured.

Glancing up from Lee's bouncing form on the forest floor, Sakura noticed that a lot more time had past than she originally thought. The sun was further in the sky than she had thought it should be, proving how much time it had taken to escape Inuyasha a second time. Their sensei had decided that since they now knew what to look for when he blasted them with his ultimate wind style, he was going to use more close range techniques. She sighed, because if it had not been for Lee's excellent taijutsu and speed, she doubted they all would have escaped without a scratch. She was sure that she would have gotten hurt in some fashion and failed them all.

A rustle came from the foliage beyond the trees, and Sakura glanced up to see where it came from. She frowned when she heard chuckling, since it was clear their new sensei thought they were going to be an extremely easy target. However, she was ready to prove that in the toughest of situations Konohagakure shinobi were able to find a solution. Of course, the solution to their problem had come from Shikamaru, but she knew that he was a genius, and Inuyasha did not seem to be the most intelligent person.

"You three are so easy to catch," Inuyasha stated as he came through the trees. His sword was settled onto his shoulder, and he swiftly brought it down in an arch to point toward the ground. "I'm actually surprised, since I thought shinobi were supposed to be taught how to be silent assassins." He laughed, "I could have heard you three all the way from the Hokage Tower."

Sakura noticed the way his ears twitched, and held herself as still as she possibly could. It seemed that they had not put into account that Inuyasha could also hear quite well with those puppy-dog ears on top of his head. His nose was good, too, but they had not done anything to stop him from hearing their movements. She bit her lip at the realization, because no matter where they hid, if they made a lot of noise like they had earlier, he would find them.

Inuyasha's nose twitched, as his eyes flickered to the side a few times.  _Looks like that Shikamaru kid if a lot better than I thought_ , he muttered to himself.  _I doubt even Sesshoumaru would be able to pinpoint them exactly with their scent everywhere. However, they're stupid to think that my only heightened scent is smell. Tch, looks like he's not as smart as I thought he was._

Lee moved, the sound of bells coming from the movement.

Inuyasha swung his head toward the green covered shinobi. His eyes narrowed when Lee took another small step, because the tiny sound of bells caught in his ears and he focused onto him. A growl came from his throat, since he had been positive Shikamaru had not thought of everything. Seems he had not given the kid enough credit, because he could already feel his senses focusing on hearing the tiny sound coming from Lee's body. He already knew that because of it he would have a hard time focusing on anything else unless it was so loud it distracted him. "Alright, it looks like it's just you and me for now, kid."

"That may be so, Inuyasha-sensei," Lee replied, "but soon it will only be me."

"Doubt it," Inuyasha snorted.

Lee rushed forward, his speed giving him an advantage as he spun to deliver a crushing blow to Inuyasha's side. However, the other shinobi turned out to be quite fast, grabbing his foot and bringing his other arm up to block his second kick. Managing to escape his sensei's clawed fingers, Lee threw a punch toward his jaw, avoiding the sharp edge of his blade when he brought it down. His fist connected with Inuyasha's shoulder as he moved to avoid being hit in the face, but it only gave Lee another opportunity to send his other fist into the fray.

Inuyasha took a step back, increasing his speed when he realized just how fast Lee's movements were. He had not expected this type of speed from a genin, but he supposed that if his only specialty was taijutsu, he had to have something to back it up. A growl forced its way out of his throat, while he brought his arm up to escape another hit to the face. His feet dug into the ground, and he braced himself when he found an opening in Lee's seemingly endless series of punches. He took the moment, ducking underneath Lee's arm and swinging the blunt side of his sword to trip the quick genin.

Lee sprang from the ground, landed on his hands, and jumped back to his feet within a second. He quickly got back into his stance, his eyes searching for a small gap in his sensei's defenses. He found one. Running forward, Lee barely escaped another swing of Inuyasha's sword, before he dropped completely to the ground and swept his feet out from under him. However, Inuyasha caught himself on one hand and managed to push up from the ground to flip back onto his feet. By that time, Lee had already moved, knowing his goal was just a few more feet to the right.

Inuyasha turned, escaping a kick that slammed harshly into the ground. A smirk worked its way onto his face, since he was glad these kids were not going to simply roll over and let him win. However, his eyes watched Lee's movements, until he finally came up with the perfect way to send the taijutsu specialist into a state of unconsciousness. He waited only a few moments, allowing Lee to take another shot at his face, and when his fist nearly connected, Inuyasha pushed himself so that it looked like Lee had gotten the hit.

Lee's eyes widened in surprise, because he knew that he had not managed to hit the other shinobi. However, he could not say that luck was not on his side, because Inuyasha foolishly righted himself on the spot Lee had meant to drive him back to. He was lifting his sword, intending to send a powerful jutsu at him no doubt, but Lee glanced upward and shouted, "Shikamaru!"

Something groaned, and Inuyasha paused in his attack, turning his head to find the source. His eyes widened when he realized that a log was flying at him. He jumped to avoid it, only to turn his head around sharply when he heard the sound of metal flying through the air. He was about to turn and use his sword to deflect them when another set came flying at him from the opposite direction. Thinking quickly, he cursed and dropped Tetsusaiga, bringing his hands up to create a seal that he knew he would not have accomplished if he had sheathed his weapon.

Rolling underneath the weapons swiftly, Lee grabbed the weapon his sensei had dropped and escaped being impaled on the weapons by seconds. The sword in hand, he turned his head to realize that Inuyasha had melted down into a pile of sand that surrounded the shuriken and kunai. A substitution that he was positive all shinobi from Suna could perform.

"You all think you're pretty smart, don't ya?"

Lee turned his head, stilling when he realized that Inuyasha was holding Sakura above the ground by her neck. "Sakura," he whispered. She was struggling, pulling at Inuyasha's wrist and hand in hopes of escaping. Her feet were trying to kick at his shins and groin, but the Suna-nin held her at arm's length at his side to avoid being hit. Lee's eyes were attracted more to her face, though, because it was clear that Sakura was not receiving enough oxygen as she began to turn colors.

"Well, I'll have ya know that I never planned to give you an easy win," Inuyasha growled. "So, I hope you can come up with something quick, because I could snap this girl's pretty little neck faster than any of you could move."

Shikamaru appeared at his side, "But you can't do that."

"Tch, like hell I can't," Inuyasha smirked. "Our Kazekage used to be a cold blooded killer before he went to the chuunin exams. I don't think he'll be too opposed to a little girl being killed because she got  _caught_  in the crossfire."

"Let Sakura go!" Lee shouted.

Shikamaru grabbed his arm before he could move. He sighed, saying, "That's not what I meant. When I said you couldn't do that, I was going to explain that I was talking about your idea of making us come up with a better plan."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, "And why the hell can't I?" His fingers tightened around the girl's neck, cutting off her supply of oxygen a bit more. She had almost ceased struggling before the boy had spoken, and he wondered if perhaps she had a thing for him. He would not be surprised if she did, though he had seen her and that blonde chick fighting for the Uchiha boy.

"Because you don't have Sakura," Shikamaru said softly. He turned his head toward the sky, "I knew that you'd find a way through my scent trick, so as you were fighting with Lee, I told Sakura to create a clone of herself. That's what you're holding right now."

Lee blinked, a smile beginning to stretch out across his face. He watched as Sakura stilled, grinned, and popped out of existence within Inuyasha's grasp. "That's brilliant!" he exclaimed, bringing his hands up in front of his face. "You truly could rival Neji, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Whatever."

Inuyasha stared at his hand, disbelief swarming through his head. He had been so sure that he had grabbed the girl. He had been positive that she was the real thing when he took a quick sniff at her. However, he snarled when he realized he had underestimated the kid to the point that he had gotten one over his head. "Not that it matters," he hissed, "I can still kick your asses' even without my sword and a reason for you to slip up."

"Actually," Shikamaru sighed again, "I think you should have a look behind you."

Inuyasha paused, his fingers still twitching at the idea of tearing into the flesh of these genin. His ear swung around when he heard the noise, and he turned his head to find that another trap had been set for him. More weapons were flying at him, and when he turned around to look at the two boys, they were gone, the only sign they were still in the area the near silent sound of strings snapping as they made their escape. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head, while he stood within the range of the multiples of weapons flying at him from all sides. He had no idea where they had hidden so many, but he was not about to let them knock him out of the game with something like this.

* * *

Chouji held onto his shoulder as Ino checked him over. The plan had been very well thought out, but it seemed that they had not been expecting the summon to be quite so strong. He pouted a bit when he realized that his last bag of chips had been lost to the feline's claws, since it appeared when she managed to snag a blow at his shoulder her claws had been brought down on the bag. The chips were scattered over the ground now, and as he gazed around at them, he wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the blasted feline.

"Hold still, Chouji," Ino hissed. "I have to wrap this before you bleed too much."

"But we have to get moving!" Chouji complained.

Shino blinked behind his glasses. A sigh left his lips, though it went unseen behind the high collar of his jacket. He almost wished that Chouji had given this much spirit when trying to distract the cat earlier; instead of after his snack had been taken from him. "The cat has not moved very far. She has only gone far enough away so that we cannot see her, but she is waiting and watching to see what we do," he stated calmly. "There is no need to go flying into battle with her once again at the moment."

Ino glanced up, shivering a bit, since she knew how Shino had gotten his information. It gave her shivers to think about how may bugs were crawling underneath his flesh, eating away at his chakra in exchange for serving him. She had never understood the Aburame Clan and she never wished to understand them. "He's right, Chouji. Besides, we can always get you another snack after this mission is over," she told him.

"Alright, but you're paying, Ino!" Chouji stated loudly.

Ino's eye twitched, "Who said anything about me wanting to help you pig out? Chouji, how many times must I tell you that pretty girls like a boy who has worked hard to remain in shape! At this rate you're never going to get a girlfriend, and that would make me look like a bad teammate because I've tried who knows how many times already!"

"If you're so worried about it, then why don't you try dating me yourself?" Chouji asked. He liked Ino, but not in the way that he had just suggested. She was like his sister in a way, an annoying one, but family nonetheless. And he knew that though Ino did not want to admit it, she liked Shikamaru more than she was willing to tell. She might go on and on about how much she  _loved_  Uchiha Sasuke, but he knew that she would move on and see her heart was set on Shikamaru.

Ino gasped, "Ew! My heart belongs to Sasuke-kun, and Sasuke-kun only! How could you even suggest such a thing, Chouji, when you know how I feel? Especially when Sasuke-kun would think I could settle for less and turn his back on me?"

Shino watched their interaction, before asking, "Don't you think you should finish wrapping his shoulder? This mission will never be finished if we don't hurry and retrieve the scroll from the feline."

Ino stiffened, but nodded, "Right."

After the bandages were applied to Chouji's shoulder, though he was rubbing the wound at the slap Ino had given him, they moved on once more. Shino was quick to receive the feline's location, and they sped into the forest once more after her. A jerk of the head sent Chouji into the forest in one direction, and Ino went in the other direction, both knowing their part. This time they would not give the cat a chance to escape or sink her claws—or fangs—into one of them. This time they would send out their attacks at the extra moment they were supposed to and retrieve the scroll from around the feline's neck.

Chouji caught sight of the feline first, and adrenaline pumped through his system as he thought of his last encounter with the oversized cat. He doubted the feline had meant to kill him, but he had no doubt his wound would have been a lot worse if Shino had not managed to knock the cat away with a barrier of insects. However, he pushed the thought of his could have been death and went into action. The moment his hand seals were finished, he felt his arm expanding, and sent out the attack to slam into the ground before the feline.

Kirara was startled for only a moment, before a roar left her throat. However, she was not given a chance to move away from the giant arm when the chakra-stealing insects surrounded him. She swatted at them, the fire around her paws destroying many of them. Many more replaced them, though, and she growled when she was completely surrounded within the swarm, many attempting to get close enough to steal her chakra. Her ear flicked to the side a moment later, before she jumped through the swarm to avoid the kunai that had been thrown to snag the cloth around her neck.

Shino came from the forest, the special insects already moving at his command. Ino had the feline distracted, as Kirara turned to hiss at her. Chouji appeared on the feline's other side, ready and able to turn the cat's attention toward him should she prove too much for their female companion. Shino watched closely, hoping that the different species of insect would not be detected by the cat and thus not destroyed before they could complete their mission. It was not often that he tried to use anything other than his own bugs, but at the moment he knew he had no other choice.

Kirara snarled at the female as she twisted another weapon into her hand. Opening her mouth, she roared again, noticing the way the female tensed at the sound. Kirara used that moment to cut through more of the insects blocking her path, fire licking around her form from her paws to destroy the mass. However, they filled the area and even though she had been given a chance to escape the female's intentions, it appeared she was not going to be given that chance. And even so, Kirara knew the male she had struck earlier was standing at her opposite side and the second was behind her.

He watched as the insects landed and began eating away at the cloth wrapped around the feline's neck. Shino almost could not contain the nervousness that nearly overcame him when the bugs had landed, but gave a soft sigh when they continued to eat away at the fabric. The feline did not seem to notice them, even as the fire consumed many of his bugs around her, and she made small movements to avoid Ino or Chouji's weaponry. She seemed to know that the more she moved the more excited the bugs became, which gave them a greater advantage of eating away at the chakra she was using.

Ino tensed, because she could see the thin black line forming on the black fabric secured around Kirara's neck. She watched for any sudden movements on the feline's part, since she knew that she could deal a great bit of damage even without the fire or wind on her side. The wound she had patched up on Chouji proved that much, and she did not want to be subjected to those claws or worse. She threw another kunai at random after Chouji decided to throw one, keeping the feline on her toes and distracted even though a cloud of bugs surrounded her. Ino shivered at the sight, since she had always hated bugs.

Kirara felt it the moment it happened, the cloth slipping from around her neck and falling to the ground. She was confused for a moment, as she turned her head down to look at the fallen fabric. However, she made no move to pick it up, because she knew what her objective had been. Instead, she gave a loud cry to signal to her mistress, sent a wave of fire to destroy the insects before her, and rocketed into the forest beyond. She had used quite a bit of chakra to maintain the constant need for fire around her body, so she allowed herself to shrink into her first form and moved to seek out her mistress. Perhaps a place to nap, too.

* * *

"I could have sworn it was actually Sakura he had," Lee muttered.

Sakura smiled, "He would have, if Shikamaru had not come to tell me to create a clone of myself and hide nearby. I almost thought he was going to turn and find me, but he only sniffed at the clone and grabbed ahold of it. I was rather surprised, because I thought his nose would have picked up the difference in scent."

Shikamaru nodded, "His nose is powerful."

They turned to him, before Sakura asked, "What are you thinking, Shikamaru?"

He closed his eyes, and put his fingers together the way she had seen him do during the chuunin exams against Temari. Sakura wondered again at the reason he did such a thing, but allowed him the silence to think. Instead she turned to Lee, noticing him staring at Shikamaru, waiting for him to finish with his thinking. She was surprised that Lee could be so quiet, but supposed there were probably a lot of things she did not know about the taijutsu master. She had not enjoyed the thought of being stuck on his squad, but she supposed that having a strong teammate like him was not something she could complain about.

"Sakura?"

Sakura was startled for a moment, but asked, "Yes, Shikamaru?"

"Do you have your medic-nin supplies on you?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. Why do you need them?"

"The greatest ability any shinobi has can turn out to be their greatest weakness," Shikamaru explained. "Inuyasha-sensei's nose is powerful, so powerful that it might rival that of a nin-dog's. If that is the case, it can be turned against him if his opponent has something that overpowers his sense of smell."

Sakura's eyes brightened in understanding. "I see, we need something that we can stick under his nose and he'll be knock unconscious from the scent." It was another brilliant plan, and she had no doubt that it was brilliant, because Shikamaru's last one had got them out of a situation that could have turned nasty. "I've heard a few Inuzuka complaining about ink because the scent is so strong that their nin-dog's have to build up a tolerance to it before they can be around it. But even then they can't be subjected to it for very long because their nin-dog will eventually grow faint."

Shikamaru considered this. "Do you have anything that could rival the smell of ink on you?" he asked.

"Um," Sakura thought, "I don't think so."

Shikamaru sighed, "How troublesome."

"B-but," Sakura was quick to come back, "I do know of an herb that has a very powerful scent. Tsunade-sama made me work with it for a while because it increases the chance of a wound healing if a medic-nin is low of chakra. I know where you can find some, too, because Tsunade-sama made me look for some in case I ever found myself in a situation that I would need it. It grows in small patches, but it can be found in a lot of the training areas."

Lee grinned, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find this herb!"

Shikamaru rose from his seated position, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Glancing down at the girl at his feet, he stated, "Well, you know where to find it, let's go."

Sakura rose, nodding, "Right."

* * *

Ino clenched the scroll in her hand as they neared the barrier. She had unraveled it from the fabric and looked it over to find that it was as ordinary as any other scroll would be. However, she knew that even the simplest of things could turn out to have a large secret behind them. And she was positive as they raced toward the barrier that they were about to find out exactly how the scroll worked.

They cleared the trees with ease, and saw Sango standing behind the barrier with her boomerang in hand. She was watching them closely, waiting, and Ino stepped forward with the scroll in her hand. Ino was not quite sure what to do with it, but she decided at the last moment to try the easiest thing—throwing it at the barrier. She was actually rather surprised when she saw Sango smile, the Suna-nin merely gripping the strap of her weapon a bit tighter with each second the scroll neared the barrier.

The scroll unraveled almost instantly before it hit the barrier, kanji scorching onto the paper. It pulsed, causing the barrier to pulse in time along with it, until finally it appeared to settle. A moment later, the scroll burned away, leaving behind only the kanji as it imprinted into the large, blue, dome-like barrier. Then even the kanji shimmered away, and they took a step back the instant it did, because almost instantly a large section of the barrier disappeared, allowing them entrance.

Sango chuckled when they hesitated. Grinning slightly, she yelled, "Well, come on! I don't expect to stand here all day and the barrier is not suddenly going to bite you!"

Ino, Chouji, and Shino moved forward, ready for the moment the barrier might decide to come crashing down upon them as they past through the opening. However, it stayed open until they had completely cleared it. Afterward they sensed that the barrier had closed once more, blocking their exit, and trapping them inside until they managed to complete the mission or fail it. Which meant finding a way to pass their sensei's defenses to grab at the ribbons she had tied to her waist.

Sango did not give them time to think, she merely hefted her weapon above her head and shouted, "Hiraikotsu!" She released it upon them, watching as it cut through the air, arched after they managed to escape being hit, and came back to her. She caught it with ease, her feet pressing into the ground as the weight settled back into her hand. Her eyes turned, and she swung the weapon again to cut off the path that Ino had taken, before turning her head to watch the boys as they closed in. A smirk appeared on her face when Shino neared, because he was forced away when her Hiraikotsu came sailing back toward her at his back.

Chouji nearly got a hit in, but she brought the giant weapon up to block his attack. He pulled back to grip his shoulder, since he had not expected for it to suddenly open again after this short of time. He had thought Ino would do an excellent job in sealing it, but he guessed that he should not have mouthed off to her now. At least if he had not, she might have healed him properly and he would not be bleeding once again. Then again, it might be because that weapon was a lot tougher than he expected and he had put a bit more force than he should have behind his attack.

Ino landed at his side, "Are you alright, Chouji?"

He gave her a look, "I'm bleeding, Ino."

She bristled, "I can see that! I don't see why it opened up again. I was sure that I performed the jutsu right, but I guess I'll have to try again. Hold still, ok."

He nodded, allowing Ino to push at his clothing and pull the bandages from the wound. Her hand settled over the wound after a moment, and he could feel the chakra working to reseal the wound once more. He nodded at her work after she was done, and said, "Looks good."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Just tell me if you somehow manage to open it again, ok."

Sango cast her eyes over the bugs beginning to surround her. Quickly, she thrust the end of her Hiraikotsu into the ground and though a few of the bugs were attracted to her chakra, she performed the jutsu. She reached back and grabbed ahold of her Hiraikotsu within seconds afterward, chakra swarming into the weapon, as she pulled it from the ground and swung in a circle in her hand. Fire blossomed along the outside of the weapon, cutting through the insects as they neared her. After a few moments she felt the fire trek down her arms, and it was at that moment she extinguished it, since she knew her clothing was not as resistant as her weapon.

She quickly brushed the remaining bugs from her clothing, though they tried to stick to her hands or arm afterward. A small, frustrated growl came from her throat, as she decided to ignore the remaining few she could not dislodge from her body. They were eating away at her chakra slowly, but it was not enough that it would slow her down unless she used a chakra draining jutsu. However, she kept her eyes trained on Shino, since she knew the insects were coming from him, and quickly flicked her eyes toward the others in case they decided to try and attack her from behind.

Bugs swarmed around his body, ready to do as he commanded. Already the ones his new sensei had not managed to swipe away were crawling toward the red pieces of cloth at her waist, and he sent another wave to assist them. He was not surprised at the way she used her weaponry, since she had said she was prone to using fire techniques and her friends knew her as a weapons expert. However, his new wave of insects had another purpose, as well, since he had noticed that Ino had finished healing Chouji and had moved back into the battle.

A silent message past between the two genin.

Sango narrowed her eyes, wondering what they were up to. She knew that Chouji had been healed and Ino was now standing at her back, but she wanted to know what they were planning. She had seen the way Shino moved just the smallest bit, and she seen Ino nod from the corner of her eye. However, Sango was pulled from her thoughts when she realized that Chouji had expanded his body and was now rolling directly toward her. Her eyes narrowed, because she could easily put a stop to him, but instead she jumped out of his path.

She landed on the ground, and turned her head when she saw that Chouji had turned and was rolling at her again. She jumped back into the air, only to encounter a cloud of insects above her head. They attached to her body, gnawing away at her chakra in larger amounts now that there were so many of them. She had not expected them to work so well together, but she supposed that this was what she got for getting the squad where two of the members had been on the same genin squad. It was just her luck, just like when she had been placed onto her genin squad with Shimizu Bankotsu and Suikotsu.

She landed once more, this time digging the end of Hiraikotsu into the ground. Chouji slammed into the weapon, and she heard him hit the ground after returning to his normal size. Her attention was more placed on the insects eating away at her chakra, draining her a bit more. So, she brought her hands together and went through a series of seals, muttering, "Fire Style: Consuming Flame." As her chakra spiked, exciting the bugs, fire erupted from her body spontaneously and quickly consumed her. The bugs were destroyed quickly, even before she allowed the substitution to take place.

Shino glanced down, satisfaction coursing through his body when he saw the chewed off strip of cloth lying on the ground. He moved forward and bent down to retrieve it. He quickly stuffed it into his jacket, knowing that he would still need to help Ino and Chouji retrieve the piece of cloth they needed.

"Ino, look out!" Chouji yelled when he glanced up.

Ino turned around, her eyes widening a bit when she realized her sensei now stood behind her. A blade cut through her sleeve, pressing against her neck, and Ino gulped a bit. However, after she knew her actions had caused her new sensei to relax, she allowed her smirk to stretch across her face.

Sango narrowed her eyes, before she realized her mistake. The girl had been waiting the entire time to trap her, and she could already feel her soul being tugged at. She was already falling into darkness, though she did not fear what the Yamanaka might do with her body.

Chouji blinked, "Ino?"

Ino and Sango had stilled, staring each other in the eyes. Then, Sango lifted her head and moved away from Ino slowly. After a moment she grinned, and reached down to grab at the pieces of cloth around her waist. "Hey, Chouji!" she called. "Come over here and take this! I'm not going to hold it all day for you!"

Chouji blinked again, "Ino?" He was not sure when Ino had managed to use her mind transfer jutsu, but it was clear that she had. Either that or Sango was playing a very cruel joke on them.

Sango put her hand on her waist, and stated, "Yeah. Who did you think it was?"

"Well, you could warn a guy before you decide to take over another chick's body," Chouji muttered. "That wasn't apart of the plan, so I wanted to make sure, ok."

"Yeah, well—" Ino paused, as Sango's entire body went ridged. She could feel herself being forced out of the body, and wondered if Sango was like Sakura in a way. However, she only managed to drop the red piece of cloth she had before she could figure anything out. Then she felt herself falling back into her own body, her head spinning when she settled back into her own mind.

Sango panted, reaching down to grab onto her knee. "I'll give you that one," she said, "but I'm not going to give you the other one."

"I'm afraid, Sango-sensei," Shino spoke up, "that you already have."

Sango glanced up at him in confusion. Then she glanced back down in time to see his bugs chew the rest of the way through her third piece of cloth, allowing most of it to fall from her waist. It hit the dirt a few moments later, and she was surprised at the intelligence the genin had shown. She would have never expected a genin to think that their teammate would lose that much control in such a short amount of time. He had thought of all the possibilities and found a way to win by taking the situation into his own hands.

* * *

Inuyasha glanced around, sniffing at the air in search of those blasted genin. He knew they were close, he could smell them a mile away, but he also knew that that Nara kid would have something hidden up his sleeve. The brat was an intelligent little sucker; he would give him that, though that was about all he would give him. He had heard from Temari that he had given up during her fight with him, and in his opinion, that was a coward's move. The kid might be smart, but a shinobi's life was always surrounded by violence and a need to fight—he should have fought until he could not stand, instead of quitting.

His claws twitched, feeling the need to wrap around something. He preferred his Tetsusaiga, but he supposed that when he found those genin he could wrap them around a neck or two. After all, he needed to repay that Shikamaru boy for pulling his trick involving Sakura after he had had to drop his Tetsusaiga. And for that trap, since it had cost him a bit of chakra and stamina to finally break into the woods away from where the chaos was happening. He had no doubt that had come from the Nara's mind, and he  _really_  wanted to kick his ass because of it.

His ears twisted about on his head, trying to pick up any sounds that would tell him the exact location of his genin students. He had heard them speaking in this direction, but he doubted that Nara Shikamaru would allow them to be caught that easily. He had already figured out that his nose could pick up a scent over a good distance, much like a dog, so he had no doubt the kid would think his dog-like ears were for show. A scowl appeared on his face because of that fact, since he had always hated those all knowing geniuses'. His fucking brother was one, that blasted Higurashi wanted to be one, and in a way Miroku could become one whenever the need arose for it. He was surrounded by enough of them, so he sure as hell did not need another.

He huffed, because this was just another reason that he had wanted the Hyuuga and Uchiha Prodigies. They would learn quickly, and in a way they were intelligent, but they did not border on the level of intelligence that dang Nara was showing. The prodigies would give him a challenge through fists and weapons, instead of creating a trap that could stun even the highest level of shinobi  _because_  it had come from the mind of a genin. The Nara reminded him way too much of that blasted Higurashi, because she had always been the one to insist they set up a trap instead of running in swinging a sword and yelling.

Wench did not know what she was talking about.

His nose twitched furiously, as he turned his head a bit. Relying on instinct, Inuyasha moved to a tree, and stuck his nose close enough that he could easily pick up the difference in scent. He nodded after a moment, because the pink-haired kunoichi had brushed past this tree not long ago. She might have done it under the orders of the Nara, but at the moment Inuyasha was not too worried. He doubted they would be able to use his weapon against him, and he doubted that even a genius could continue to come up with high level plans all day. Eventually they would run out of crap to use in the Nara's traps, and then they would have to fall back on their physical abilities as well as their jutsu.

Moving forward, Inuyasha made sure to take another whiff of the air as his ears picked up the sounds around him. There was something in the air that he was sure he had smelled before, but he was not quite sure what in the world it was. It was a strong smell; something that was beginning to clog up his senses the more it entered his nose. At the moment it was not affecting him a lot, but he knew that something that could make his nose zero in on it was bad news in this form. If there was one thing he knew above all others, it was that while using his kekkei genkai, he needed to keep his nose out of things he would normally use when it was not active.

The snap of a twig caught his attention, and Inuyasha swung his head to the side, a feral grin forming on his face when he saw her. Sakura was standing just beyond the trees, and she looked ready to blot in the opposite direction. Really, he had not thought the girl would be stupid enough to step on something that would instantly draw his attention to her. Then again, his mind swirled, her actions could be another trap set up by Shikamaru, since any sensible shinobi would watch where they put their foot down.

Turning his head, he saw that Shikamaru was standing in the tree line at his opposite side. Inuyasha grinned, but confusion swam into his mind when he realized that he could not move. He watched as Shikamaru brought his hand up to scratch at his neck lightly, and felt himself do the same. "What the fuck?" he cursed, not understanding what was happening at the moment. It clicked when Shikamaru brought his hand down, his body copying the movement, to stick his hand into his pocket. "You're one of those damn shadow users that reside in Konohagakure, aren't you? I thought that your surname sounded familiar."

Shikamaru sighed, but nodded. "That's right, and you were easy to trap once we managed to bring you to an area where there is less light. I could have caught you earlier, but I had to put into consideration how strong you become once you activate your kekkei genkai."

Inuyasha glanced down to see where their shadows connected, and growled deep in his throat. He tried to force himself against the jutsu, and was surprised when he managed to twitch his fingers and shift his foot the slightest amount. A grin spread across his face, because he noticed the strain that his movements were putting on the Nara, and managed to lift his shaking arm after a moment. "Well," he chuckled, "it seems you're about to figure out just how strong my kekkei genkai makes me. I can already see that you're struggling to keep me from moving, but as you can see, I can move just fine. It just feels like there are a couple of chains strapped to me."

"Damn," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. His chakra was draining faster than he had anticipated, allowing Inuyasha to slip further and further away from his control. He felt sweat beginning to form on his forehead and knew that he would not be able to hold out much longer without passing out or allowing Inuyasha freedom. And unfortunately, that moment came the second Sakura would have stuffed the herb into Inuyasha's nose, because their sensei spun on the spot, swiping his claws at her.

Another chuckle escaped Inuyasha's throat, "I had thought I'd need to put all my time into toughening up the kunoichi on my squad, but it appears I'll need to give you a bit of a workout each day, Nara. After all, I don't want you falling dead because I wasn't able to increase your stamina. Sure, you might do pretty well against a normal shinobi, but against one like me, you don't have a chance in hell at the moment."

"Don't be so sure, Inuyasha-sensei!"

Inuyasha was brought out of his state of satisfaction the moment Lee's foot connected with his shoulder. He tried to keep himself upright, and he would have been able to if it was not for the power and weight behind the kick. He knew from looking at the kid that he did not weigh that much, which meant he was packing extra weight somewhere on his body. Inuyasha was forced to the ground, though, and hissed when he felt the kid's fingers grip the back of his head. His face was forced downward into a patch of greenery beneath him, and the moment his nose inhaled deeply, the scent overpowered his senses.

For a moment Inuyasha felt dizzy, but the next thing he knew, he was drifting in blackness.

* * *

"You did very well," Sango nodded. "Though it did take you a bit longer to trap Kirara than I had expected. However, despite that, at least now I know what areas I must help each of you with."

"So, when do you want to see us tomorrow, Sango-sensei?" Ino asked.

"Around the same time as this morning," Sango replied. "I want us to be able to go over a few basic things until noon, before moving onto something a bit harder to help each of you."

Ino, Chouji, and Shino nodded.

Sango brushed her hand over her clothing, remembering the feel of doing so earlier and having bugs in her way. However, though she was sure that she officially hated anything with six or more legs, she was happy that she had gotten a group that could challenge her in a small way. Though, she would never indulge Ino with her trick for kicking her out of her mind, since that was something she had picked up while working with her sensei, Suzuki Kanna. Of course, her sensei's jutsu had been a bit more haunting, but the method worked the same way if she concentrated hard enough.

"Is there anything else you need us for?" Ino asked. She knew that the boys were just waiting for her to tell them they could go, and she wanted to roll her eyes at their pride. Really, how hard was it to ask whether they could leave or not.

Sango shook her head, "No. You may do whatever you wish. But, if you need me, I'll probably be at the apartment the Hokage is letting us stay in, or somewhere in the market with Kagome-chan. She's probably finished her test by now, and she'll probably want to look at the differences between our villages." Sango sighed, "Which means that Temari, Kankurou, and Kazekage-sama will also be with us most likely."

"And where exactly is this apartment?" Shino asked.

Sango blinked, "Oh, yes. Let me write it down for you." She pulled a marker from her holster, along with a notepad that she carried out of habit. After writing down the address, she handed it to the three genin. Then, she said, "If any of the others should ask where to find Kagome-chan, Inuyasha, or the pervert, they are staying at the same place. Kagome-chan and I are sharing a room, and Inuyasha and Miroku are sharing the one across the hall. I believe that Kazekage-sama and his siblings are also staying on the same floor, should you need to know."

They nodded.

Sango sighed at the lack of response. However, she supposed that they would learn to talk and trust each other sooner or later, though she doubted that trust would stretch very far after only two weeks. "I trust that you'll get the information around to the other genin should they need it. Kagome-chan tends to be forgetful, Inuyasha is overly brash, and Miroku forgets things the moment he sees a pretty girl. They'll all probably forget to give the information out, so I would like it if you past it along when you see them."

"Will do, Sango-sensei," Ino grinned.

"Good, that will be all," Sango stated. She waved them away and decided to go find Kagome, since her friend would probably be looking for her after she was finished with her squad. Hopefully, Kagome did not decide to drag her all over Konoha once she found her, but she supposed that in the end it would serve a purpose. A shinobi should always be aware of their surroundings, and knowledge of the landscape helped a bit.

* * *

"Give me that," Inuyasha growled, snatching Tetsusaiga from the hands of the bushy-browed genin. He quickly sheathed it and continued to scowl, because the move they had pulled was a cheap trick. Sure, his nose could become his weakness, but there was no reason to shove a bunch of herbs into his nostrils to the point he  _could_  still smell it without his kekkei genkai activated.

"Um," Sakura grinned slightly, "did we pass, Inuyasha-sensei?"

"Whadya think?" Inuyasha snapped. He did not like having his ass handed to him by a couple of genin, and he was determined to show these brats within the next two weeks why he was the strongest jounin brought from Sunagakure. The others might argue with him that he was not, but he was damn it, and these genin would get a taste of harsh reality by the time he was done with them.

"Yes?" Sakura stated slowly. She could tell from how tense her new sensei was that he was extremely pissed off. She had seen him become this tense while arguing with Higurashi Kagome, Sasuke's sensei, and he clearly did not like her. So, she could only hope that he decided to calm down and see that they had only done what he had wanted them to do. They had proved that they could work together and come up with a plan to defeat even a high level shinobi, which was a good thing in her opinion.

"Duh," Inuyasha snarled. "You've all frickin' passed, though that last trick you pulled was dirty. I'm goin' to have to scrub my nose for the next three days before I can even think about trying to use it again. And it's all  _your_  fault!"

"But we did as you commanded," Sakura argued. She noticed that Lee was nodding at her side, obviously agreeing with her. She was not quite sure whether he was agreeing because she was right or because of his crush on her, but she was happy that someone was backing her up. Inuyasha might be a little mad that they had found a way to pass his test, but there was no reason to fly off the handle the way he was beginning to do.

"So," he ignored her, "I think a punishment is in order."

"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed to himself.

"Whatever it is, Inuyasha-sensei," Lee spoke up, "I shall do it to the best of my abilities! I will take your punishment in stride, and if I do not complete it within the time you've suggested, I will do double—no, triple the original amount assigned!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched at Lee's dedication. A moment ago he was agreeing with her and now he was saying that he would perform his sensei's commands no matter how ridiculous it could become.

"I want you three to run a hundred laps around this village!" Inuyasha snapped. "And don't think I won't know if you haven't done them. I want them all done, and when you're finished, you're to report to me. Depending on how long it took you to do it, I  _might_  decide to extend your punishment or let you go. It really all depends on how I'm feelin' at the time."

Shikamaru's shoulders fell, Sakura pouted slightly, and Lee grinned at the challenge.

"But—"

"Well, what are ya three waitin' for?" Inuyasha snapped. "I'm not going to wait all day for you to get off your ass and start!" It appeared that no matter what they said, Inuyasha was going to test them until he felt like the big dog again. His pride had been wounded and he hated the fact that he had been outsmarted by a couple of genin, so he was going to take it out on them until he felt better.

"This is not fair," Sakura said as she ran, "I doubt Sasuke-kun's sensei is making him do something like this."


End file.
